The Crystal Rose Shinigami
by BahamutReishiki
Summary: Years have passed since Lightning and her sister arrived in the Soul Society. Bereft of their memories they struggled to find a place among the multitude of souls around them. When Lightning is told one day that she can be a shinigami she is conflicted in her choice. Is this the start to a whole new journey for her or just another nightmare?
1. Chapter 1: Prelude

I'm saying this disclaimer just once: I don't own Bleach or Final Fantasy. Tite Kubo and Square Enix own them.

Well anyway, here is my new story. Before getting started on it there are a couple of points I need to bring up. First of all several of my stories will be taken down. These are the ones that have really bad writing or were just going nowhere. The stories that will be removed are: **Bleach Into Azeroth **(2009 version and my first story), **Mass Effect: Crusades, **and **Spiritual Adventures Across Azeroth. **These stories will be taken down within 1-2 days of this story being posted. The stories that I will keep up are **Journey of Spirits, Warcraft: Lightning Chronicles, **and **Bleached into Azeroth. **

Now then, a few points of order about this story (mostly background stuff):

1. Lightning's initial appearance (age-wise) is about 21 while Serah is basically they look the same way they do in Final Fantasy XIII. Mentally, however, they are much older due to the rate at which people age in the Soul Society.

2. I am not going to limit the characters that will appear to just Bleach and Final Fantasy XIII. While the main character of the story **IS** Lightning (or Claire if you prefer) characters from other main series games will appear. Some will be good and others will be villains. In fact, I have an entire story arc planned out for a particular group of characters. Try and figure it out. The first to PM me their guess for this group of villains will receive something special.

3. I don't think I need to say it but this story is AU so events will proceed differently from canon.

4. This starts roughly 50 years before the main story begins (when Ichigo receives his powers from Rukia). While I will get to that point eventually there are 50 years to fill in. While there will be several time gaps I have planned a couple of semi-original story arcs set to begin before the Bleach manga story starts so stay tuned.

5. If you, the reader, feel that I have written a character that behaves/acts/talks radically differently from canon feel free to say so in a review or PM. But if you do so, do it politely.

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* * *

**The Crystal Rose Shinigami**  


_Chapter 1: Prelude to Fantasy_

She opened her eyes and realized two things – she was lying facedown on the ground and she had no idea how she got there.

Groaning she picked herself up off the ground and looked around in confusion. From what she could see in the lack of light she was in a large room of sorts. As she managed to stand up and her eyes became used to the dim lighting she saw that everything around her was in a state of advanced decay. Whatever furnishings might have existed were either gone or destroyed. The walls, which might have once contained majestic paintings and frescoes, now stood cracked and shattered from the passage of time.

"What the…where am I?"

Even though the room stretched as far as her eyes can see her voice failed to echo, seemingly dying only inches from her face. Her nerves on edge and breaking out in a cold sweat she couldn't help but feel that there was something familiar about this place.

Gathering her courage she looked around, "Tch, might as well find a way out of here."

After a quick survey she walked towards the only exit, a large ornate door adorned with a glowing pink sigil. Grabbing the handle she stumbled as she was hit with an intense feeling of vertigo. After just a few seconds her regained control of her senses and found that she was now standing in a large ornate chamber that resembled a throne room. She noticed that unlike the previous room this one didn't seem to have suffered the same effects of time with only minimal signs of decay and corrosion apparent. Her attention was quickly shifted from the room when she realized she was no longer alone.

Across the room, on a large crystal throne with one leg cross over the other, sat an imposing figure with the bare outline of a man. The man was clad in a mixture of fitting midnight black and dull gold armor with a tattered cape hanging lazily off to the side. Feeling apprehensive she looked around for a place to hide when she noticed the figure's eyes were closed behind his steeped fingers.

Relieved that she hadn't been spotted her mind raced as she tried to find an exit. With one eye focused on the figure she carefully looked around and, to her relief, spotted an opening off to her right. She took a few experimental steps towards it to gauge whether the figure knew she was there. With no reaction from him she sped towards the exit but stopped after only a few feet when her entire body froze in fear.

Breaking out in a cold sweat and with her hands shaking she turned her head and saw that the figures eyes had opened and were looking directly at her, the blue light emanating from them seeming to pierce into her soul.

"Wh-"

Whatever she was trying to say died out before leaving her mouth. She tried several more times to speak but found herself mute. As the sense of foreboding increased her mouth opened and closed as she tried, desperately, to say something but failed to do more than breathing.

_"What-What is this feeling?"_

Swallowing the thick lump in her throat she gathered as much of her courage as she could and tried taking another step.

She instantly felt the aura of dread surrounding her triple in pressure. Brought down to her hands and knees and shaking in complete terror she had to use all her willpower to simply remain conscious. Forcing herself to look at the figure even under the pressure she saw him slowly stand up and grab the large double bladed weapon leaning against the throne.

_"Move! Come on…Move!"_

As the figure's metallic footsteps grew closer she struggled to regain control of her body. She tried crawling towards the exit when a shadow covered her body. Looking up she saw the figure standing over her with its large blade hanging over her body.

"N-No! Please!"

The figure almost seemed disappointed at her lack of strength before hefting the weapon into the air and spearing it through her back and out her stomach. She let out a silent scream of pain before the world faded to black…

* * *

...

* * *

Her eyes shot open and sat up in her bed with a small scream. As the last vestiges of the nightmare dissipated and her familiar bedroom came into focus she held a hand over her stomach where the figure from her dream had stabbed her and to her relief found herself uninjured. Relieved she layed back down as her pounding heart returned to normal and closed her eyes.

_"That dream again," _she thought as she attempted to fall back asleep only to find herself still awake ten minutes later.

Rubbing the back of her neck she looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it was nearly seven in the morning. Yawning one last time she stood up and staggered across the room to the window. Opening the window her face was immediately assaulted by the brisk fall morning air, causing her to shiver slightly as goose bumps developed on her exposed skin. Taking a deep breath of the cold air she ran her hands over her face to remove the last traces of sleep.

_"This afterlife isn't perfect but it is enough."_

Carving out even a semi-comfortable life in the Fifth Rukon District was not easy by any standard. Either you were born into a family that was already well off enough to afford the high standards of living in the lower districts or you scrapped your way up from the bottom of the barrel in the higher districts. She and her sister had been lucky enough to die at nearly the same time and end up together in the sixty-fifth district. She had worked tirelessly six days a week for nearly a decade before she had saved up enough Kan to move towards the more lawful districts.

She had never regretted that decision.

She still remembered Serah's lack of hope upon ending up in the sixty-fifth district. She never wanted to see that forlorn look on her younger sister's face ever again. If she needed to go through hell to prevent it she would do so without thinking. Her sister deserved an afterlife full of happy memories, not one where they had to worry about surviving to the next morning.

_"Memories,"_ she thought as she pulled on a simple white and red kimono with a pink rose pattern embroidered along her right sleeve that curled around all the way to her neck. She may make enough Kan to afford a wide variety of clothes but her lifestyle before coming to the fifth district ingrained into her a sense of frugality.

"If only I could remember how I died…"

Nearly twenty years of living in the Soul Society and she still did not have any memories of how she died. She was told that most souls do not remember their lives among the living in order to get them to better accept being dead but she found that argument ridiculous. She wanted, no, _needed_ to know how she and Serah died. There was something about their deaths that she felt was extremely important to know but nothing ever came out of her attempts to remember. There were moments, sometimes, in the very late evenings just as the sun began to set in the west and the last remaining traces of sunlight filtered through the windows when scattered memories involving crystals entered her mind and left just as quickly.

Fifteen years ago she had asked Serah about how they died. Her sister had looked at her with a pitiful expression before violently shaking her head and declaring that she didn't want to know. She had pressed the issue and Serah told her something about how they died caused her soul to fill with fear and terror.

She had never bothered asking her sister again.

Dragging herself out of her memories she finished tying her kimono and left her room. Unable to go back to sleep and still too early to leave to work she headed towards the front door. Before leaving she passed by her sister's room and peered inside. Curled up under her blankets was Serah, snoring gently in the pre-dawn light. Smiling she gently closed the door. She was glad that her nightmare hadn't woken her sister up like it had several times in the past.

Opening the front door she walked out onto the small porch and sat down in a chair. Yawning she sat back and was enjoying the dawn when a familiar feeling of pain shot through her stomach. A couple of seconds later the pain abruptly vanished leaving her to ponder what could have caused it. Several ideas came to mind but she quickly shot each down. Deciding to leave it alone for the moment she leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes with a sigh. If she was lucky she might be able to get another hour or two of sleep before Serah woke up.

"Aren't you cold?"

_"There goes that idea,"_ she thought with a grumble.

"Huh?"

She had been so absorbed in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed her sister approach her, "Just how long have you been standing there watching me?"

Serah, whose hands were occupied by two cups of tea, gave one to her before replying, "Only about five minutes. When I saw you just sitting there with a peaceful look on your face I thought it would be best to leave you alone."

"And the tea?" she asked.

"Oh this?" her sister gestured to the two cups in her hands before passing one to her, "I know that as souls we don't need to drink and eat, as you have told me many times before, but I just _love_ tea."

_"That is true"_, she thought bemused. She lost track of the number of times she had tried telling Serah to stop spending Kan on tea only to be rebuffed time and time again.

Serah shivered in the autumn morning air as she sipped her tea, "It's so cold out here. How can you stand sitting out here in just a kimono?"

"You know this is where I go when I can't sleep," she reminded Serah with a roll of her eyes, "Besides if you're that cold there's nothing stopping you from going back inside."

"And leave you out here all by yourself to die of hypothermia?" Serah pouted.

"I'm already dead. I can't die again."

When she distinctly heard Serah mumble, "Stubborn as a mule," under her breath she couldn't help but smirk, "Come now Serah. I'm not that stubborn."

Her sister had the decency to look embarrassed, "Whatever. Are you going to tell me about your most recent nightmare?"

Her burgeoning good mood deflated, "It's nothing."

"Nothing?" Serah argued with a pout.

"Yes, nothing. Now let it go Serah."

"I've had nightmares. Sure they may have caused me to wake up scared but what's happening to you is completely different. This is at least the sixth time you woke up screaming in fear."

She turned her eyes away from her sister in shame. "I woke you up again didn't I?" she whispered.

Serah nodded her head, "I'm starting to get really worried. I'm afraid if this continues something bad is going to happen to you."

"Serah," she said and looked back at her sister. She placed a hand on her sister's shoulder in comfort, "I appreciate the worry you have for me. I really do. But a nightmare cannot harm me. You know how tough I am."

Her sister pulled away from her touch, "I know how tough you _think_ you are Claire."

"I'm fine Serah," she said subdued. Serah's last comment really hurt and now she just wanted this conversation to end as soon as possible, "If it will make you feel better I promise to get help if I have another nightmare."

Serah opened her mouth to say something but seemed to reconsider before heading inside. Eyes focused on where Serah was just standing Claire listened as her sister's footsteps faded. Leaning back in the chair she rubbed the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. Truth be told she was just as worried about the nightmares as her sister, perhaps even more so. Serah only knew that the nightmares were causing her to wake up early and lose sleep. She would never tell her sister about the intensifying stomach pains or the sudden headaches.

She wanted to get help but was terrified doing so would cause her to lose her job to someone with a 'more stable mind.' Without her job she couldn't afford to keep Serah and herself under a roof and fed and they would be forced back on the streets once again.

"You really shouldn't lie to your sister like that."

Without turning her head she shifted her eyes to the right. In the shadows and leaning against a tree with his back turned to her was a man in a black shihakushō with a sword strapped across his back. _"Shinigami,"_ she thought with disdain. Shinigami never bothered to interact with the common souls unless they were in danger from a hollow or were a threat. On edge she slowly put the cup down and stood up.

"What are you doing here shinigami?"

The man didn't turn to look at her, "What makes you so sure I'm here to see you?"

"Do you take me for a fool?" she bit back, "You would never have bothered talking to me unless you were required to do so."

"I'm insulted. Do you assume I am a soul without a hint of courtesy or politeness?"

"Most of the shinigami I've met were nothing more then thugs who thought they could do whatever they wanted."

"Hmm…" the shinigami hummed, "By your tone and experience I can tell you moved here from the higher districts where the laws of the Seireitei don't reach as thoroughly. Those shinigami you mentioned encountering sound like members of the 11th Division which is mostly comprised of thugs and brutes who can barely swing a sword let alone protect souls."

She spit on the ground and growled, "You never answered my question. Why the hell are you even here?"

"You don't like wasting time do you? I suppose I should tell you."

"Stop stalling," she threatened, "Who are you?"

The man chuckled, causing his purple hair to shake, "Who I am is not important. What is important is that I speak with you Claire Farron."

She narrowed her eyes at the use of her name. Not many knew it and those that did were scarce, "You know who I am but I do not know you. Why should I trust anything you have to say?"

The shinigami pushed off the tree and started walking towards her, "You should trust what I have to say because if you don't listen to me harm will come to your sister."

Her body was off the porch before he even finished speaking. She raced towards the shinigami, the glint of a hidden dagger shining in the early morning light as it slipped out of her sleeve into her right hand. No one ever threatens her sister.

The barely perceivable widening of the shinigami's purple eyes was all the evidence she needed to know that he was caught off guard by her attack. Smirking coldly as she reached him she thrust her arm forward, knowing that in the next second the shinigami would be dead and Serah would be safe from him.

_"This ends now!"_

Whenever she is asked what happened as she went to stab the shinigami she would reply that she didn't have a clue. One moment the shinigami was standing barely an inch away from her dagger and the next he was gone. Caught unaware by the sudden lack of resistance she fumbled to a stop. Reversing her grip on the dagger she frantically looked around for the shinigami, certain that he was going to ambush her.

_"Where did he go?"_

Her eyes darted around the surrounding buildings for the shinigami when she heard his voice from directly behind her, "If you are looking for me might I suggest expanding your search to three dimensions?"

The shinigami was sitting idly on her roof with a bemused expression across his face, his chin propped up with a hand. Huffing in anger she pointed the dagger at him, "You leave my sister alone!"

The grin across his face spread, "What will you do if I don't?"

Growing ever more frustrated with the shinigami she threw the dagger at him. Even if was able to dodge her earlier attack he shouldn't be able to avoid this one. At least that is what she thought right before he leaned to the side and caught the weapon by its handle.

"You are skilled Claire," he complimented, "Your first attack actually forced me to use shunpo to avoid being hit. Granted I didn't come here looking for a fight but it was still impressive. If you were a shinigami you would have succeeded in injuring me. However your second attempt to take my life was done heatedly and without forethought thus leading to failure."

He calmly flicked his wrist and the dagger flew through the air and embedded itself in the ground near her feet, "Might I inquire as to the source of your hostility?"

Without taking her eyes off the shinigami she reached down and grabbed the blade by the handle and pulled it out of the ground, "You know damn well why."

"I do?" he asked. Jumping down from the roof he landed several feet away without making a sound, "Please explain your reasoning."

"You threatened my sister!" she hissed and narrowed her eyes, "I will not let you harm her!"

"You say I threatened your sister…" he pondered and stroked his chin as if in deep thought, "That is quite strange because…I cannot remember saying I would do anything to your sister. Perhaps in your state of mind you interpreted what I said as a threat."

The death grip on the dagger loosened as a cold sinking feeling began to well up in the pit of her stomach.

"I can see that you realize the scope of trouble you are now in. Attacking a shinigami with the intent to kill is a capital offense under the laws of the Seireitei even if you had no chance of victory. By those same laws I am allowed by law to cut you down here and now without suffering repercussions."

The blade slid out of her numb fingers and fell to the ground but she didn't even notice. Her body was frozen in fear as she realized she was going to die. She just made the worst mistake in her existence and because of that Serah was going to be alone…

"I see you understand the consequences of your actions," he continued calmly, "I find it best to allow people to learn from their mistakes in order to not repeat them. If we don't then how are we to grow and learn?"

The brief fluttering of her heart with hope caused her breath to hitch, "W-What?"

"I will forgive you for this transgression on one condition. Simply listen to what I have to say and I will forget it ever happened. Understood?"

Swallowing the growing lump in her throat she quickly nodded.

The shinigami took that an approval, "Good. Now then, do you know the requirements for a soul to become a shinigami?"

The random question threw her off, "What? What kind of question is that?"

He waved her off, "Humor me."

Scoffing she crossed her arms and looked anywhere but at him. The fear permeating her soul had begun to abate with her normal attitude reasserting itself, "Really just what every soul knows. To become a shinigami a soul must have spiritual powers and be able to release it."

"While that is generally true there is more to it. You know that normal souls do not need to eat and drink for sustenance. This is due to the small amount of spiritual energy in their bodies constantly being replenished by the ambient energy permeating the Soul Society. When a soul develops spiritual energy they can no longer 'feed' themselves using that method and therefore need to eat to survive. Those that don't begin to experience what is known in the world of the living as hunger pangs."

Without realizing it she had subconsciously moved her hand over her abdomen. The shinigami noticed this and said, "I see you understand the cause of the pain you have been feeling."

She stared at him and narrowed her eyes, "You knew?"

"No," he shook his head, "But your reaction was enough for me to reach that conclusion."

She didn't like where this conversation was going and she especially didn't like the leading tone in the shinigami's voice. Spending the first two years of her afterlife in a place where people killed for the stupidest of reasons helped her realize the shinigami was hiding something from her.

"Are you somehow suggesting I'm a shinigami?"

"You certainly have the power and potential to become a shinigami," he corrected.

She turned and started walking back to her house where Serah was no doubt getting worried. This shinigami had already wasted enough of her time and she had listened to what he had to say as promised, "I will pass on the offer you are no doubt about to give me. I cannot become a shinigami. Who will take care of my sister and keep her under a roof if I cannot earn a living. I apologize for wasting your time but you need to leave now."

The man seemed unfazed by her rejection. In fact he seemed to approve of it, "I'm impressed Claire."

"Impressed?" She stopped several feet from her front door, "Impressed about what?"

"Your determination to take care of your sister. I can list every soul I approached that had the potential to be a shinigami who agreed without hesitation or thinking about the consequences. Those souls never became shinigami. They only saw the strength, power, and privileges being a shinigami would give them and ignored the ramifications of their actions. You know of the power being a shinigami would give you and yet you prioritized your sister over it. Well done."

Thinking that he was attempted to trick her with platitudes she continued moving and started opening the door, "That's nice but I don't buy it."

"Before you leave there is just one last detail with which you should become familiar with."

The serious tone in his voice gave her pause, "Oh?"

"When a soul develops spiritual powers they sometimes have an adverse affect on their environment. It is unknown how and why this occurs but it most likely has to do with their overall personality. Long term exposure by normal souls to spiritual energy can cause them to become weak, sick, and even kill them."

She twisted around thinking he was joking and saw his cold and frozen face, "What are you saying? Serah is fine!"

"Perhaps for the moment she is," he admitted with a shrug, "Perhaps your spiritual energy will never affect her but you and I both know you would hardly take that risk. You value your sister's life over your own and would never willingly put her in harms way."

Scowling she marched towards the shinigami and grabbed the front of his shihakushō with both hands, "What the hell do you want from me?"

"What I want from you is quite simple…and watch your language young lady," he said without seeming the least bit perturbed, "In four weeks time the next semester at Shin'ō Academy will begin. During the preceding week the academy opens its doors to all souls with spiritual energy for the entrance exam. Pass the exam and you will become a student of the academy."

Her grip tightened, "What about _Serah_? Who will take care of her if I'm busy becoming a shinigami?"

He reached up and with almost a minimal amount of effort pulled out of her grasp. His hand brushed phantom dust off his shihakushō before he answered, "I'm not supposed to tell you this but students of Shin'ō Academy are given a stipend of roughly 20,000 Kan a year for amenities."

_"20,000 Kan? That's nearly twice what I make right now!"_ she thought with astonishment.

The insufferable smirk was on his face again, "I take it you are now considering my offer?" She opened her mouth but he silenced her with a raised hand, "Don't give me an answer now. Talk to your sister and let her know everything. We may all have our secrets but who can we trust more than family?"

"I-"

"What are you doing in the middle of the street Claire?"

She turned her head and noticed Serah walking towards her. She had changed into a pink and blue kimono with an embroidering of a small furry creature stitched along the bottom, "I was talking to this shinigami. He was just about to leave."

Her sister looked around confused, "What shinigami?"

Scoffing she turned around and noticed that the shinigami was gone. _"He must have used shunpo when I was distracted,"_ she thought with a bit of anger. Frustrated at how the day started and feeling a headache forming she turned and wrapped an arm around her sister's shoulders, "Nobody Serah. Let's head back inside, there is something important I need to talk to you about…"

* * *

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* * *

He walked swiftly and with purpose through the halls of the 1st Division. He had been on his way to the 4th Division when an inner court messenger had intercepted him and told him that the Captain-Commander wanted to meet him. He had initially brushed off the messenger but when he found out the Captain-Commander wanted to see him as soon as possible he begrudgingly headed towards his office. Reaching his office he knocked on the door and waited for a response.

"Enter."

Sliding open the door he walked into the Captain-Commander's expansive chambers. He was intrigued that the leader of the Seireitei and all shinigami could live in such a Spartan setting. Pushing that thought away he swept past the pillars lining both sides of the office and saw Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto standing near a railing overlooking the Seireitei, his entire body leaning on a thick wooden cane.

"You wanted to see me Captain-Commander?"

Yamamoto didn't respond to the question for nearly a minute, "Hmph. It is about time you showed up. I was beginning to think you had purposely brushed off my invitation."

"Do you take me for a fool?" he asked with a smirk.

"Perhaps I do," Yamamoto quipped and turned his head slightly to face him, "Genshirō came to me earlier. He saw you leave for the Rukongai before dawn. What were you doing out there?"

He walked forward until he was alongside Yamamoto and leaned on the railing, "I suppose I found something that peaked my interest."

"Peaked your interest?" Yamamoto asked with a half-opened eye, "I take it that means you found another potential student?"

He chuckled at that, "I just find them. I don't actually teach them anything."

"It has been more than one hundred years since the last one. How does this one fare?"

Another laugh, "You know I wouldn't tell you even if you ordered me to."

The Captain-Commander scoffed at the disrespect and looked away, "Very well then. I will not pry any further but I must know one thing. What is your initial assessment of him?"

"She certainly has potential but then again so does everyone. It is what they do that makes them special."

Yamamoto arched an eyebrow in interest, "That is quite a surprise. This is your first recruit that hasn't been male."

"I fail to see how gender has to do with skill and power."

"I was simply making an observation. Out of the twelve souls you recruited in the last 600 years, three went on to become captains, four rose to the rank of lieutenant and one…"

"It was quite a shock what happened to him."

"This new recruit might just be what you need."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Since you previous student you have dedicated all of your time to the 1st Division. While your work has allowed the Seireitei to prosper and is greatly appreciated I am relieved that you have found something else to focus your efforts on."

He turned away from the Captain-Commander with a scoff, "I don't suppose you summoned me here to simply heap upon me accolades?"

"If only that was the case," Yamamoto replied, "I'm afraid the reason I called you here is much more somber. Four days ago Chōjirō came to me with a peculiar request."

"A request?"

Yamamoto nodded, "Indeed. He told me that he was no longer worthy of being my lieutenant and that I should begin looking for a replacement as soon as possible."

"Chōjirō said that?" He was shocked at the man's suggestion. Sasakibe was a loyal to the Captain-Commander as a person could get. Nearly one thousand years of dedicated service and now he decided to give it all up?

"I find it hard to believe that Sasakibe, the man who would jump off Sōkyoku Hill if you personally told him to do so, would just retire out of the blue."

"I discussed it at length with him. Chōjirō felt that my lieutenant should be someone able to fight alongside myself in both times of peace as well as times of war without fearing being killed by my shikai if the need arises."

"Sasakibe may have a point after all," he said with a frown, "He may have bankai and the overall power of a low captain but he wouldn't last in the presence of your released zanpakuto for more than ten seconds."

Yamamoto didn't seem to like that revelation, "Personally I feel that Chōjirō is understating his strength. He was always too modest. The number of shinigami that can withstand my shikai without immediate harm can be counted on one hand, two of which are my old students."

"By the way," he asked, "What does Sasakibe stepping down have to do with me?"

The Captain-Commander looked sternly at him, "I thought it was obvious. Chōjirō suggested, and I agreed, that you should become my new lieutenant."

Now _that_ was an interesting proposal. Truthfully he had an inkling that was the reason he was called here after the Captain-Commander told him that Chōjirō was stepping down, "Shouldn't Sasakibe have told me this himself? The man is anything but shy."

"Chōjirō is staying at Shin'ō Academy for the next few weeks. As he is no longer a lieutenant he felt that he could be useful elsewhere. Apparently he felt the academy's curriculum could use an update."

"Interesting," he said bemused, "But why did he suggest me? Surely there are other more qualified candidates out there? What about the fourth seat of the 6th Division? He has both the skill and ability necessary to be your lieutenant."

"I had that same idea. However Ginrei informed me he wanted Garamonde to be his lieutenant someday. I respectfully acquiesced."

Chuckling as reality set in, he let out a laugh, "So I guess there is no way out of this promotion?"

Yamamoto looked at him disappointingly, "You may not be able to fully withstand my shikai but we both know you can last in it long enough to escape with only minor burns."

"Ah yes," he replied as he thought back to that encounter, "I still don't understand what that vasto lorde was doing in the Human World in the first place and for it to survive your shikai is most concerning."

"It may have escaped but you survived as well," Yamamoto reminded.

"I wouldn't call that a complement. I almost died in that battle."

"Hmph, downplaying your skills with modesty…I see now that Chōjirō was correct in choosing you," Yamamoto fully opened his eyes and looked at him, "Will you accept the position third seat of the 1st Division, Caius Ballad?"

Caius shook his head, "I still can't believe Sasakibe was willing to give up what he worked centuries for."

"He truly was conflicted over the decision but felt that it was the right thing to do. Besides you have both the strength of character and leadership qualities needed. Half of the men in the barracks looks up to you," Yamamoto stopped here to let out a small laugh, "and don't think I haven't see the looks the women give you as you walk through the Seireitei. I may be old but I'm not senile."

Caius ignored the jab and seemed pensive, "What will become of Sasakibe if I, for the sake of argument, do become your lieutenant?"

"He will take over as third seat until such a time that he feels he can challenge you to be my lieutenant again."

"I see…" he trailed off. He hadn't foreseen becoming lieutenant. Frankly he was content being where he was. He may have the power and skill to rise through the ranks but he felt that a title like captain or lieutenant was just that, a title. He could a lot more good in both the Human World and the Soul Society if he weren't constrained by rank. Still…

Shrugging as he came to a decision Caius sighed, "I suppose it would be a good change of scenery being your lieutenant. I wonder how the other lieutenants will take the news."

"We shall see tomorrow when you are officially promoted," Yamamoto replied.

"Indeed we shall. Now if there is not further business I will take my leave."

"We are finished," Yamamoto admitted.

He bowed and turned to leave but stopped when Yamamoto's spoke, "I give the both of you my sympathies."

"Thank you," Caius said as he left the 1st Division barracks and made his way to the 4th Division. Hopefully his meeting with the Captain-Commander did not take up too much time. Captain Unohana was a woman even he was wary of upsetting.

_"Her entire family makes me wary. Although I have found several ways around her particular ire."_

Unaware of his new lieutenant's thoughts Yamamoto stood overlooking the Seireitei for several more minutes in silence. Walking towards the center of his office he sat down on a tatami mat and closed his eyes. As he tried to meditate his thoughts kept returning to the recent events. Having Caius as a lieutenant would help strengthen the Gotei 13. The man had the strength of a captain and being lieutenant would help propel him to greater heights.

_"That man…let us see what he makes of this situation."_

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_..._

* * *

_**Author's Note 1:** That concludes the first chapter. As some of you might predict Lightning (Claire) will be heading to Shin'ō Academy in the next few chapters. Since the manga states that the average time for a student to graduate is 6 years there will be several time skips along the way. But just to let you know Lightning will not be in the academy the whole six years._

**_Author's Note__ 2:_**_ The characters introduced (in person) in this chapter were: Claire [Farron], Serah [Farron], Caius Ballad, and Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto. Next chapter some more Bleach and Final Fantasy characters make their appearance. Some of which in a very surprising role. So stay tuned and review please!__  
_


	2. Chapter 2: Examinations

Here is Chapter 2 almost a week after first publishing this story. I spent the last three days finalizing this chapter and intensely proofreading it. I would like to point out that this is where the main story actually begins with many Bleach and Final Fantasy characters making a formal introduction. As always read and review!

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**The Crystal Rose Shinigami**

_Chapter 2: Examinations_

"So that's your decision then? You won't change it no matter what I say?"

Claire wrung her hands together nervously and refused to look her sister in the eye, "Yes."

"Did you even think this through or did you just jump at the chance to become a shinigami?"

"Of course I thought it through," she said with her voice rising towards the end.

"Then why didn't you tell me sooner?" Serah asked her voice also getting louder.

"Don't you think I wanted to?" she growled and slammed a fist onto the table, "The day that shinigami came I wanted to tell you but as soon as I tried the words just wouldn't come out. I was scared you would think I was abandoning you!"

"Of course I think that!" Serah nearly shouted, "What else would I think when I find out my sister is leaving to become a shinigami in the morning?"

Claire deflated but said, "I desperately wanted to tell you. You don't know the number of times I tried to tell you only for find the words to catch in my throat. I knew that no matter what I said you would think I was abandoning you to make my life better but that is not true! I want to be a shinigami so that you don't have to worry about money ever again. All I have done, everything I have sacrificed, since we came to the Soul Society was for you Serah!"

"I want to believe that Claire. I really do," Serah whispered, "But after everything that has happened to you over the last year I can't…I just can't."

Her mouth opened and closed several times before she responded, "I'm not abandoning you Serah. As soon as I get into the academy I'll be making almost twice what I do right now! You and I won't have to worry about being forced back on the street ever again!"

"But what if you don't get in Claire?" Serah's question pierced her chest and she realized she had not thought things through, "You're going to have to quit your job just to take that stupid exam. If you don't get in you'll be jobless and we'll be on the street anyway!"

"I-" she started to say but found herself unable to give an answer.

"That's right. You don't have an answer do you?"

Unable to sit down any longer she got up and walked over to the window. Leaning against it and taking a deep breath to calm down she turned her head, "Even if I decided not to become a shinigami Serah we need the money. The shinigami said I'm developing spiritual powers. Unlike you I'll need to eat food to survive. You know how expensive food is in the Soul Society! With what I make right now we wouldn't be able to afford to live here anymore."

"Then let me get a job!" Serah snarled, "You can't keep protecting me like a delicate princess! You know what I'm capable of!"

Claire's head sagged in depression, "I didn't want you to have to work. When you and I first arrived in the 65th Rukon District I immediately saw how terribly cruel the world was and decided right there to always protect you from it no matter what. If allowing you to live your life without having to work every day for a pittance is what needs to be done then so be it."

Serah seemed stunned at her answer, "You think I'm too delicate to survive out there? I was with you every step of the way. I know just how the world is like out there. I know how cruel and selfish people can be. What makes you think I'm not ready for it?"

"It's because you're all I got!" she yelled, finally at her breaking point, "If something happened to you then there would be no reason for me to go on!"

The house became deathly silently for several minutes before Serah asked, "Then why…why if you're so worried about me are you leaving?"

"Because…" she choked out, "Because if I don't I might hurt you."

"What?" Serah asked shocked.

"If I don't go I'll hurt you," she explained out of breath, "If I stay my spiritual pressure will eventually cause you to get sick and may even kill you. I can't take the chance that it won't effect you. I need to go to gain control over my power so I don't hurt you."

Serah was mortified at her answer, "Why didn't you say so sooner?"

She pushed away from the window and walked back to the table, "Because I didn't want to worry you. I was hoping you would be happy for me and leave it at that. I didn't expect or want to get into a fight about this. Nothing is happening like it was supposed to."

"So nothing I say will change your mind?"

She grew nervous at the calm tone in her sister's voice, "I have to do this Serah."

"I see that nothing I say or do will stop you from going so I wish you the best of luck," Serah said but Claire knew that her sister's words were empty. She stood stunned as Serah walked towards the front door, "I do appreciate that you will send back Kan as often as you can but if you go through this, if you decide to become a shinigami, you cannot come back to this house."

"What?" she asked horrified, "You can't be serious Serah?"

Her sister stood halfway out the door and turned her head, "I can't tell the difference between the truth in your words with what you think is true. So if you are going to go to that academy tomorrow morning do not expect to find a house to come back to."

"But Serah-"

Her sister slammed the door, cutting her off. She stood there, staring at the spot where her sister just was for nearly a minute, before letting it fall limply to her side. She couldn't think, couldn't figure out what just happened. Every part of her mind was denying the events that just occurred so vehemently that she was nearly convinced this was all a dream. She wanted Serah to support her, to realize that she was becoming a shinigami to support and protect her but everything that could go wrong did. As a cold numbness spread throughout her body she knew in her heart that no matter the decision she made things between Serah and her would never be the same. Clenching a fist and holding back her emotions she stiffly walked to her room closed the door. She didn't want to be here when Serah returned because if she did things would only get worse.

"_Damn it all."_

* * *

_..._

* * *

"Relax Caius. You are just being inducted as a lieutenant not going up against a vasto lorde."

"I don't see the point of having such a gathering. I assumed such a promotion simply entailed a formal declaration and nothing else," Caius replied.

"But where would the fun be in that?"

"Being a lieutenant isn't supposed to be fun captain."

"Well…" Shunsui Kyoraku, the flamboyant captain of the Eighth Division, drawled and scratched at his cheek, "Unlike the seated positions that you are used to one of the jobs of a lieutenant is to be the public face of the division. The captain may have the power and respect but you run the day-to-day tasks and coordinate your subordinates."

"Is that why I never see you work?" Caius pointed out, "In fact it appears that your lieutenant does most of the work. If I didn't know better I would assume you were giving it all to your lieutenant."

"It would be wise to keep such suspicions to yourself Lieutenant Ballad," Shunsui said, "Besides…if my lieutenant finds out she will totally kill me."

"Surely your overreacting Captain Kyoraku?"

Shunsui shuddered, "My lieutenant has took it upon herself to teach little Nanao how to 'keep me in line' as she calls it."

"It's not like you don't deserve it," Caius replied.

"You keep up that attitude and you can kiss being a lieutenant goodbye. Anyway," the captain trailed off while changing the subject, "I know you already met most of the lieutenants in your long tenure in the First Division but you'll be surprised how things change once you are an equal. Since we are almost there can you at least pretend you're happy to be here?"

Caius looked at Shunsui but didn't say anything. The captain stared back for a few seconds before caving in, "Well, we're here. I don't think I could stand your stoicism any longer."

The two shinigami had stopped walking and were standing outside the lieutenant's meeting hall in the First Division. Shunsui stepped in front of Caius and slid open the door before ushering him inside. Caius had barely a moment to adjust to the change in light before Shunsui wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"Sorry we're late everyone. To make up for our tardiness let's be sure to give our newest lieutenant our heartfelt congratulations!"

"I do appreciate the candor Captain Kyoraku," Caius said and peeled the captain's arm off his body, "But like I told you all this isn't necessary."

"Nonsense!" the captain exclaimed, "When Yama-jiji told the captains that Chōjirō was stepping down as his lieutenant and that you were replacing him I thought he was pulling our leg. But then I realized I couldn't recall the last time he told a joke or even laughed. This is a time to celebrate!"

As the flamboyant captain went on Caius couldn't help but have second thoughts about becoming lieutenant. If being lieutenant meant he had to put up with Captain Kyoraku's behavior he might as well turn in his resignation. His thoughts were interrupted when one of the other lieutenants approached him.

"Captain Kyoraku's behavior aside I welcome you Caius Ballad. It is unfortunate that several of us could not be here today," the reclusive lieutenant of the Seventh Division complimented. The large shinigami hid his appearance by covering every inch of his skin with ceramic and steel armor and his entire head with a helmet, "Genryūsai-sama and Chōjirō must have seen something special within you to give you such an honor."

"Oh why don't ya just inflate his ego some more Sajin," the lieutenant of the Eleventh Division grumbled from her perch on the windowsill with a bottle of sake in one hand, "It's not like he needs it!"

"Fang…" Sajin Komamura growled as he turned his body towards the lieutenant, "You will do well to hold your tongue or-"

"Or what?" Fang smirked and stared at the slit in Komamura's helmet, "You gonna try and teach me how to be a proper lady again? How well did that work out for ya last time? But if you're good for another round I'm game."

That was the last straw for Komamura and he took a step towards Fang but before he could take another a hand firmly grasped his arm, "Relax Sajin. She is simply trying to bait you. You should know this by now."

"Right…thank you Auron."

While Komamura was grateful for the moment of clarity Fang looked visibly annoyed at the interruption. "Way to ruin my fun," she groaned and took a sip of sake, "I almost had him that time."

The lieutenant of the Ninth Division, Auron Yevon, let go of Komamura and focused his attention on Fang, "I would appreciate if you did not attempt to further antagonize your fellow lieutenants."

"Yeah…well…I guess the fun's over then," Fang blurted out and looked away. She knew better then anyone the fallacy of trying to push Auron. He wasn't known as the strongest lieutenant for nothing. She remembered the one, and only, time she had pushed Auron too far. It was…not a pleasant memory. Shuddering at the unpleasant memory she peered into her sake bottle and grumbled, _"I'm gonna need more sake if this is the crap I'm dealing with."_

Caius looked amused as the normally energetic Fang became quiet and introverted. What was even more interesting was the smirk that was barely visible under the high collar of Auron's shihakushō. "Quite impressive Auron," he said after a moment, "In the past whenever I was forced to…_interact_ with her about official business I could never get her to behave."

"It's all in the approach," Auron answered and held out a hand, "Back onto the matter at hand I look forward to working alongside you as an equal Caius."

"Likewise," Caius responded and shook it.

Shunsui clapped his hands together and grinned, "Now that you're all settled in I need to go speak to lieutenant Oerba." The captain didn't even manage to take a step towards Fang before a fist blindsided him and his body went flying through the air and became embedded in the nearby wall.

"How many times must I tell you that this isn't happy hour?" the lieutenant of the Eighth Division shouted, "You even try this crap when I'm in the same room captain? You have a lot of nerve!"

Shunsui slowly peeled himself out of the wall and brushed dust off his clothes. "That really hurt Tifa," he whined like a child, "I think you might have broken a couple of ribs with that attack. What kind of lady are you to just attack an unarmed and defenseless man?"

Tifa Lockhart raised a gloved fist and began gathering spiritual energy in it, causing it to glow a vibrant green, "The kind of person that will continue to kick your ass until you learn the damn lesson!"

"Your words really hit home Tifa," Shunsui whined and placed a hand over his heart, "Bringing up my drinking problem like that…I think I'm going to need some sake just to drown my sorrows."

Fang sensed danger and pulled the bottle of sake closer to her chest, "Like hell you are! Get your own damn sake!"

Tifa was of a like mind and leaned in close to her relatively unhurt captain, "You even think about touching that bottle and I'll make sure Captain Unohana does a very _thorough_ inspection of your corpse when I hand deliver it to her hospital!"

Shunsui grew pale at the death threat and quickly backed up away from her much to the relief of Fang as well as the amusement of several lieutenants who found it hilarious to see one of the more powerful captains cowed. Finding himself no longer wanted Shunsui shook Caius's hand, "It seems that I wore out my welcome much more quickly than I thought. I wish you the best of luck with your position and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask."

The next moment the captain disappeared in a burst of shunpo, much to the ire of his lieutenant, "Get your ass back here captain! I'm not doing your paperwork so you can slack off and drink!" Tifa went to chase down her captain but before she left she stopped and turned to Caius, "It really was nice to finally see you become a lieutenant Caius. You must have really impressed people to get here. I know we haven't had the opportunity to work together in the past but I hope to change that in the future.

The meeting hall was silent for a moment after Tifa's hasty departure before a sultry voice spoke up, "My, how exciting! If every lieutenant meeting was like this I might actually come more often."

"Well spoken Rangiku," Gin Ichimaru, lieutenant of the Fifth Division, said, "I do wonder how much longer Tifa will last before she reaches her limit with Captain Kyoraku. I'm betting on his body turning up in a river or ditch with paperwork stuffed down his throat."

"How very…morbid of you Gin," Fang deadpanned, "You gunning to be a captain already? If you are going to murder one of them I suggest practicing on someone easier. That bookish captain of yours seems like an easy enough target that even you could succeed."

Gin had the decency to at least look like he was bashful when he rubbed the back of his neck and laughed, "I wouldn't count on that but you really think I have what it takes to be a captain Fang?"

"Wow," Fang said with a flat voice while turning her now empty sake bottle upside down, "You even sound honest when you lie directly to my face."

"Wow!" Gin said with fake surprise, "I didn't know you were this smart! And here I thought you just were another brute from the Eleventh Division."

"Fang! Gin! That's enough from the both of you! You are both lieutenants so act like it," Komamura growled and stamped his foot down, causing the room the shake.

Caius watched the scene briefly before turning to Auron, who had moved away and was leaning against a wall, "I have heard an interesting rumor about you Auron."

The lieutenant looked intrigued, "And?"

Caius folded his arms, "Apparently your captain is being forced to retire due to injures he recently obtained."

"You would be correct," Auron said with a solemn nod, "Braska lost most use in his right arm fighting against a surprisingly strong adjuchas in the Human World."

"Oh my!" Rangiku said shocked, "How could there be an adjuchas strong enough to do that to a captain? What happened?"

"The rumors going around only tell half of the story," Auron stoically explained, "About a month ago Braska and I were sent to a small village along the eastern coast of Fukushima Prefecture after over fifty humans and their souls vanished. When we arrived we were blindsided by an adjuchas class hollow that could apparently control gravity as if it were a child's plaything. I was taken out of the fight relatively early when the hollow decided to reverse the pull of gravity twice, causing my body to go flying out into the sea. While I was incapacitated Braska took a crushing attack to his arm in an attempt to kill the hollow but only managed to wound it."

"What will happen to your division now Auron?" Rangiku asked.

"Most likely Braska will appoint a replacement captain before he retires."

Rangiku opened her mouth to say something when a different voice called out, "You should become captain Auron."

Fang took a swig of sake before continuing, "What? I mean it. You are the strongest lieutenant and everyone knows you have bankai even if you never show it. Besides these meetings will be a lot more fun if you weren't around to drag everyone down with your no-nonsense attitude."

"Comments aside Fang does have a point Auron," Komamura added, "You are the both eldest and strongest of us. It may be true that you have bankai but most importantly you have the admiration of the entire Ninth Division. Kaname has nothing but the utmost respect for you."

Auron chuckled, "The third seat has it in his head that I'm some sort of perfect role model when it comes to justice. He comes to me at least once a week to inform me about some wrong he has found in the Seireitei. He has potential but he needs to learn that the world is not simply black and white."

"Do my ears deceive me?" Fang said pretending to swoon, "Is the great Auron advocating breaking the laws of the Seireitei?"

"I'll let you draw your own conclusions," he calmly replied much to the ire of Fang who was hoping to get even a subtle reaction out of the stoic shinigami.

"Well I'm both bored and out of sake," Fang said as she leapt to her feet. Brushing some imaginary dust off her sari-like shihakushō she gave a mocking wave, "I think I'll head back before the captain gets bored and tries to destroy something. See ya around some time Caius! Perhaps we can have a fight."

"I suppose I should leave as well. Captain Aizen needed me for some business and I really shouldn't be late. Let's get out of here Rangiku," Gin said.

"What?" The Tenth Division lieutenant said shocked, "Why are we leaving?"

"Have you been daydreaming again Rangiku?" Gin said with a wide grin.

"Well…"

She was unable to finish her excuse before Gin forcefully dragged her out towards the exit. Before completely leaving Gin turned to Caius and gave a mocking salute, "I'm be seeing ya around lieutenant."

The remaining lieutenants gave their final congratulations to Caius as they slowly filtered out of the room and returned to their respective divisions. When he was the last one remaining Caius sighed and shook his head. He had known or heard of most of the lieutenants ever since they graduated from Shin'ō Academy and joined the Gotei 13 but he never expected them to be so…lively.

"_I suppose being in the First Division for a couple of centuries will do that,"_ he thought with a smirk, _"The entire division really does not have a sense of humor or fun once I look at it from the outside but I suppose that's the way it needs to be."_

As he left one final thought filtered through his mind, _"I wonder if Claire __decided to go to Shin'ō Academy?"_

* * *

_..._

* * *

Claire mindlessly adjusted her shihakushō for the fifth time since sitting down. There was nothing actually wrong with it; she just couldn't sit still for some reason. She had quiet and carefully left Serah at the break of dawn and arrived at Shin'ō Academy nearly two hours ago in her best kimono only to be told by the receptionist that she needed to change. Apparently all potential students need to dress in the standard academy shihakushōs even if they are not going to get in. Sighing and leaning forward she rested her head on top of her arms and looked over the large lecture hall where dozens of potential shinigami were either sitting down or filtering in.

"_Why am I here?"_ she thought for the umpteenth time, _"If I wasn't so stubborn and just let Serah get a job like she wanted none of this would be happening. Everything would be fine and I would still be happy. It's all my fault."_

"Are these seats taken?"

She tilted her head to the right and saw a man with bright red hair pulled up into a ponytail leaning against the seat next to her. "No," she said after a brief moment of hesitation."

"Oh good," he said before turning around and yelling, "Hey Rukia I found us some empty seats!"

"Ugh," she groaned as his annoying voice echoed through her head. She wasn't feeling all that good to begin with and this was just making it worse. But before she could do anything to correct it a much shorter person blindsided Renji and smacked him to the ground.

"Keep your damn voice down Renji! This is the Seireitei not the Rukongai! Get your act together!"

"Why'd you do that Rukia?" Renji retaliated.

"Because you were being a complete ass!" the newly named Rukia retorted and grabbed his shihakushō, "Can't you see you're being rude to this person?"

"I'm being rude?" Renji countered, "You're the one sticking up for her and you don't even know her name!"

"Oh and you do?" she scoffed.

Claire groaned when both of their attentions turned to her. Her hope of somehow avoiding being dragged into the mess had been destroyed. "Claire," she said quickly and concisely. Hopefully they would go away or just shut up and leave her alone.

"See Renji?" Rukia pointed over his shoulder to Claire while completely missing the veiled hostility in her voice, "Your loud and obnoxious voice is annoying Claire!"

"My loud and annoying voice eh?" Renji threatened, towering over Rukia, "You're the one who started this whole mess by hitting me."

She was just about to reach her breaking point. If those two idiots didn't stop arguing within the next few seconds she was going to kill them or move to another seat. As the argument dragged on with no sign of stopping the second choice began to seem like more and more of a good idea. Luckily for her they were stopped when a loud and booming voice shouted, "Quiet down!"

The man who had miraculously stopped the argument was standing behind a podium in the front of the hall and was wearing the formal instructor's shihakushō, "My name is Gengoro Onabara, head instructor of the Special Accelerated Class, but I do not expect most of you to remember that. In fact I expect over half of you to either drop out or fail this exam. If you fail this exam you will be able to try again at the beginning of the next semester in the spring. Now before we begin are there any questions?"

"I have a question," a meek voice called out from somewhere to Claire's left, "We weren't told what to expect on this exam. What kinds of questions are there?"

Onabara picked up a crumpled copy of the exam, "On these pieces of paper are everything you will need to know to become a proper shinigami. Everything from commonly known facts to obscure historical events is fair game, Now then if there are no more questions there are a couple of rules. You will have seventy-five minutes to complete all thirty questions. If you pace yourself you should just barely make it through without becoming a blubbering mess. One final warning – if you cheat, and I will catch you if you do, I will personally throw you out of here and forbid you from ever taking the exam again. You may begin as soon as you receive a test."

Claire took the test that was handed to her. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she quickly read the first question:

**Question #1**: What was the name of the first arrancar that the Gotei 13 came into contact with?

It took her mind a few seconds to realize she didn't have a clue as to what the answer was. _"What the hell is this?"_ she thought with a mixture of nervousness and anger. To her right Renji seemed to be in a similar predicament if the swearing under his breath was any indication. Subtly glancing around she saw that a lot of people were struggling just as much or even more than her. Undeterred by the difficulty and unwilling to cave in under the pressure she buckled down her emotions. Skipping the question she skimmed through the various questions until she came upon one she was fairly certain she could answer:

**Question 8**: Give at last the partial names for two of the current captains and/or their lieutenants.

She rubbed her eyes and wracked her brain for an answer, _"Let's see…everyone knows about __the Captain-Commander__ and there is always a Kenpachi. That's two but do I need to know their first names as well? Damn it I'll just put down what I have and hope it's enough."_

Quickly scribbling down what she thought was the correct spelling for the two names she began reading the next question when Renji's leg started twitching from nervousness. She initially ignored it but when it continued for over five minutes she quickly, and quietly, raised her foot and slammed her heel down on his toes.

To his credit Renji did not shout out as pain laced up his leg. Reaching down and grabbing his foot he seethed at her, "What the hell was that for Claire?"

"The incessant tapping from your foot was distracting and annoying me," she whispered just loud enough for him to hear. It wouldn't be good to get in trouble. Before Renji could begin to complain he had to cover his mouth when he was subjected to another bout of pain. Claire was confused until she saw the smug and annoyed look on Rukia from the opposite side of Renji.

"Shut up Renji," Rukia hissed, the pencil in her hand threatening to snap in two, "All the noise you're making is distracting me."

"But she started it!" he replied.

"And I'm ending it," Rukia warned, "You say another word and I'll aim for somewhere a little higher next time."

Renji blanched and went back to his exam, thankfully without being accompanied by the annoying tapping from his foot. Feeling in a slightly better mood Claire chewed on the end of her pencil and read the next question.

**Question 9:** What was the lieutenant's name that took down the renegade captain of the Seventh Division Sephiroth Crescent in 1744?

She had an idea as to what this question was referring to. Leaning back and closing her eyes she tried to remember just why the name Sephiroth seemed so familiar. The nearby Fourth Rukon District held a day of remembrance every year to mourn those that Sephiroth had slaughtered when he went insane. Her sister had dragged her to it once or twice out of interest but she could not remember what the name was of the shinigami that stopped Sephiroth.

"_I remember Serah saying that it was a very funny name because it had to do with bad weather or something but what was it? Squall? Storm? Wait…Cloud!"_

Writing that down she skipped the next few questions and began to wonder why that shinigami hadn't warned her that she might need to _study_ for the entrance exam. All he told her was that there was one but not what was on it. Although honestly she didn't think half the people here weren't doing even as good as she was. Several of them seemed to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown and a couple had turned in their tests and left. Renji has forgone the nervous twitching and was now mumbling the names of famous and powerful shinigami under his breath.

**Question 19**: What event took place in 1711 that had more than half of the captains leave the Seireitei for the Human World?

She had no clue about the date but the only possibility was the Quincy War, it was what all the older souls in the Rukongai talked about when they felt they weren't being listened to enough. She can't forget the number of times one of them had scolded her for not paying attention before switching to how the Quincy had almost destroyed both the balance of souls and existence with their callous disregard for the purification of hollows. Whenever that happened she would simply roll her eyes and quickly agree just to be move on. Serah though…she liked to listen to the tales and jot down notes even if the story never changed in the dozen times it was told.

"_I should send her back a couple of books about the Seireitei's history. She might like that,"_ she thought sadly.

**Question 20**: Write the name of the hollow that killed Captain Basch fon Rosenburg in 1492.

She leaned back and rubbed the bridge of her nose in frustration. As time passed the feeling in the back of her mind that these questions were impossible to answer grew. Even Serah might not know the answer to some of these questions and she prided herself on knowing everything possible about the Soul Society's history. Glancing at the clock at the front of the hall she noted that nearly an hour had passed but that was not what kept her attention. All around the hall nearly a quarter of the people had either left the room or fainted in their seats.

"Hey Renji," she whispered.

"What do you want?" the red head asked in annoyance.

"Quiet! It's not like I want to talk to you but this is serious. Take a look around the hall."

"What are you talking about," he said before pulling his face out of his exam and looking around the lecture hall. "Holy…what the hell is going on?".

"Is there a problem prospective students #134 and #119?"

Renji and Claire jumped a little when the proctor's voice focused on them. Onabara seemed to be completely oblivious to what was going on around him even as another student fell unconscious two rows in front of them, "I asked if there was a problem."

"No sir," she said entirely by instinct and quickly buried her face back into her exam to hide her embarrassment. After a minute she had composed herself enough to sit up and get back to work. Chancing a look at Renji she saw that he was doing the same but would worriedly look around the hall every now and then as another examinee fainted or fell unconscious.

"_Not much time left,"_ she told herself, _"I can worry about why the proctor hasn't noticed anything happening later."_

**Question 25**: Name the four aeons that represent the four cardinal gates of the Seireitei.

Her pencil hovered over the paper as she tried to answer the question. The only thing she knew about the aeons was that they were supposedly the spiritual guardians of the four gates leading into the Seireitei. They had fallen into obscurity centuries before Serah and her arrived in the Soul Society. How she was supposed to answer a question based on an outdated and archaic mythology was strange.

"_Ok, let's see…there is-"_

"Time is up! Drop your pencils now!"

Claire looked at the clock and noted that time was indeed up. Sighing dejectedly she passed her exam down the aisle to the waiting shinigami. She hadn't even reached the end of the exam before running out of time and of the eight answers she had she wasn't sure half of them were correct. Next to her Renji was busy wallowing in his own self-pity while Rukia half-heartedly tried to console him.

"Oh crap I just know I failed! I answered just two questions on the test. I am so going to be kicked out!"

"It's ok Renji. I already knew you were an idiot," Rukia said with a straight face while patting his back, "Now everyone knows. You won't need to hide it anymore."

"How many did you answer Rukia?" Renji asked depressingly.

"Just one," the petite soul replied as if she was talking about the weather before looking around Renji to Claire, "How about you Claire?"

She bit her lip before responding in a voice barely above a whisper, "…eight."

"Eight?" Renji said shocked, "You knew that many answers?"

"Why are you making it sound like I did well?" she bit back.

"Didn't you know about the rumors?"

Claire was confused, "What rumors?"

"Yeah," Rukia answered, "Apparently this test is really, really hard. Only like one or two people get above a ten on it every decade or so. You getting an eight is going to throw off the entire curve."

She wasn't sure if Rukia was being truthful or just trying to make her feel better. "Whatever," she said after deciding on the later, "How long do we have to wait until we get our results?"

"I'm not sure," Renji replied, "But it doesn't appear as if there are that many of us left. We might just pass because there's no one else."

He had a point. At the start of the exam there were over two hundred people in the room hoping to become shinigami but now less then twenty remained. While several volunteers were busy dragging bodies out of the hall Onabara folded his hands behind his back and shouted, "For those of you still conscious enough to listen to me pay attention! If you are worried that you have failed this exam you can leave the room without the stigmatism of having failed hanging over your head. When you come back in six months it will be as if you never failed in the first place. Anyone want to take up that offer?"

His eyes swept across the room and saw that while most of those still conscious were nervous and jittery none of them looked ready to leave. Giving them a minute to sweat it out he finally broke the tension by clapping his hands loudly, "Well then…congratulations to the rest of you for passing the exam and making it into Shin'ō Academy!"

"What the hell?" Renji shouted standing up in a huff and nearly knocking Rukia over in the process, "How the hell did we just pass if you haven't even looked at the exams?"

"Oh those?" Onabara glanced over to the haphazard pile of tests on a nearby desk, "That wasn't the real exam."

"What do you mean that wasn't the real exam?" a pale young man with light blonde hair asked, "What did we study for anyway?"

"You actually studied for this thing?" Onabara said surprised, "Do any of you honestly think that every shinigami knows the entire history of the Soul Society after just coming in off the street or from the noble houses? Does anyone really care what happened to a captain nearly fifteen hundred years ago? The real purpose of this test was to see how well you all functioned under s combination of stress and pressure. I ingrained into your minds that if you cheated you would be barred from all further examinations in order to make you fearful of even looking around."

"But why would you lie to us like that?" a soft-spoken girl asked. Claire vaguely recognized the voice from before the exam began.

"Because being a shinigami is no joke!" Onabara shouted, "We don't just swing a sword around and use 'fancy magic' as some of you like to call kido. We head to the Human World to perform both konso and slay any hollows we come across. Hollows that will attempt to kill and _eat_ you if given the chance. If you can't handle a simple exam how can you be expected to deal with the pressure of an actual fight?"

"So this whole exam was just a test?" she asked.

"Precisely," the instructor replied, "Over the course of the exam we had a volunteering captain stand outside this room and slowly increase the spiritual pressure inside. While initially there was no pressure towards the end the pressure was equivalent to a fourth or even a third set. In fact let's all give our thanks to the help. Come on in Captain Aizen."

As if on queue the door on the side of the hall slid open and a shinigami wearing a white haori walked in. The captain had dark brown hair and was wearing a pair of thick glasses. Captain Azien looked around the room and laughed nervously rubbing the back of his neck, "Oh dear did I overdo it again?

* * *

...

* * *

**_Author's Note_**_:__ Some of you might recognize several of the unnamed students taking the test based on the descriptions. In a related matter I did try my best to get the personalities of all characters to be as close to canon as possible. I even had to rewrite several key sections of the chapters because the characters involved either didn't sound right or were saying/acting completely different from normal._

_The canon Bleach universe timeline has a large gap between Aizen's plans around a century ago to when Isshin Shiba was the captain of the Tenth Division. With such a large blank slate I was able to add in characters for the missing captain and lieutenant positions without going completely against the flow. On that note I am going to completely ignore what the various games add to the timeline except for various characters such as __Arturo Plateado._

_Well let's see how many Final Fantasy characters I put in here in person: Fang, Auron, Lightning Farron, Caius Ballad and Tifa Lockhart. Let's not also forget the myriad of Final Fantasy references and allusions also present. I like to believe I did a good job of weaving the different universes together._

_If the popularity of this story increases I'll start to write segments at the bottom of each chapter going over the changed division line-ups of the Gotei 13 starting with the First Division and ending with the Thirteenth Division. So if any of you want to see something like that be sure to either favorite or review this story._


	3. Chapter 3: Memories

_Well here is the third chapter in The Crystal Rose Shinigami. I am excited at seeing the interest people seem to have in this story and that invigorates me to keep writing it. I even managed to get this out about a week (give or take a day or two) after chapter two. This chapter begins the Shin'ō Academy Arc that happens to be the first major arc of the story. I will try to keep the major events about the same but will add a lot of what I want (that's where a lot of exciting things happen!) So enjoy it and don't forget to read and review and if you spot any errors let me know.  
_

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_..._

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**The Crystal Rose Shinigami**

_Chapter 3: Memories_

Claire looked around her new room with a guilty expression. When that shinigami had said Shin'ō Academy would take care of everything he hadn't been kidding. She had barely finished the exam when she had been shuffled out of the hall and into an office where an older shinigami had quickly explained where she would be living, how much Kan she would receive per month and her expected behavior while attending the academy. It had all happened so fast that some of her memories were still all a blur. She had set out and accomplished what she intended to. She was on her way to becoming a real shinigami and would be able to keep Serah off the streets forever so why did she fee so damn miserable?

She, of course, already knew the answer. It was the only thing her depressed mind could think about since she found her room and closed herself off from the outside world. Accomplishing her goal had alienated the one person she wanted by her side and she didn't know how she was going to fix the mess she got herself in.

"Damn it, what am I going to do?" she asked and collapsed face down on her bed.

She already knew the two most likely choices she had to choose from. The first was that she could simply forget about Serah and focus on becoming a shinigami. All of her moping and depressing thoughts were most likely not healthy for her in the long run. Letting go of Serah might be the best choice if she didn't want to literally get sick from worrying. Just thinking about that made her mouth taste faintly of bile. What kind of person would she become if she so easily broke her bond with her sister? She would rather the guilt eat away at her soul that do such a thing. Some things were just too valuable and precious to lose.

The other option was to just give up attempting to become a shinigami. She could leave the academy and go home in the hopes that Serah would be willing to patch things up and forgive her. Claire sadly shook her head as she realized that was most likely not possible. Serah was just as stubborn as her, perhaps even more so. Even if she were allowed back home and Serah actually talked to her nothing would ever be the same. The tension between the two of them would most likely not dissipate for decades and that was more than she could bear. So without any ideas on how to alleviate her guilty conscious she glanced across the room to the small writing desk that had been provided.

"_As much as I wished that would make things right it wouldn't help at all. It'll just make things worse."_

She laid there with her face in the pillow for what seemed like forever before begrudgingly pulling herself out of bed. Moping and feeling sorry for herself wouldn't solve anything. If she wanted Serah to forgive her she needed to be proactive. Walking over of the desk that came with her room she sat down and pulled out a piece of paper. Taking a moment to gather her thoughts she leaned over and began to write:

_Serah,_

_I know you would probably not want to hear from me but I simply ask that you keep on reading._

_I'm sorry for what I have done. I should have told you about everything from the beginning but I was just too scared. I couldn't figure out how to tell you about what happened. I was scared you would be angry and in my fear that is exactly what happened. I only hope that we can somehow get back to-_

Claire grit her teeth in frustration, crumpled up the letter and threw it against the wall. She knew what she wanted to get across in her letter to Serah but somehow the words just didn't come out sounding right. How could she possibly express everything she felt in a few words? Sighing in resignation she laid her head down on the desk and tried to figure out a possible third option out of the quandary she willingly got herself stuck in. As the minutes passed and the last rays of sunlight began to disappear below the horizon bathing the room in darkness she stood up and made her way back to her bed. Perhaps a night of rest would help her figure something out.

It seemed as if she had barely closed her eyes when there was a loud knocking at the door.

"You in there Claire?"

Claire knew that staying quiet was probably the best thing to do but if whoever was out that was who she thought she was that wouldn't dissuade her. After a couple of seconds of contemplation she sighed, "Yeah I'm here."

The door to her room opened and Momo Hinamori's head appeared with her distinctive short pigtails at the base of her neck, "Why are you laying there in the dark Claire? Did I wake you?"

"Don't worry Momo I wasn't sleeping," she said attempting to comfort her fellow student. While Momo may be an upbeat and cheerful girl nearly every waking moment whenever she was around her Momo seemed to draw into herself and become an introvert.

"_She acts like I'm cold and standoffish. I don't really act like that do I?"_

"Are you sure I wasn't bothering you?" Momo asked nervously while wringing her hands together. Claire sighed in an attempt to alleviate her frustration. It was almost as if Momo didn't hear what she just said, "I said I wasn't sleeping. Now, is there a reason you decided to stop by? Isn't your room on the other side of the dorms?"

Momo didn't say anything and seemed to look everywhere in her room but her. "I'm not mad at you Momo," she said in her best attempt to sound happy. It must have worked because while it sounded absolutely horrible to her and was something she never wanted to do again Momo seemed to perk up, "Now please tell me why you decided to stop by and visit me."

"I came see if you were busy tonight."

"Really? Why?" she asked. She must have said it a tad too harshly because Momo visibly shrunk away.

"Well…" Momo trailed off as her normal level of shyness around Claire asserted itself once again, "After the exam Renji and Rukia came up to me and said they wanted to celebrate getting into the academy."

"Celebrate?"

Momo nodded her head, "Yeah. Rukia said at first Renji tried asking permission to use a classroom for a party but the instructor actually laughed him out of his office. So now we are all just going to this restaurant in the Seireitei to celebrate. It will be Renji, Rukia, Izuru who prefers to be called Kira, Leon who doesn't like to talk a lot and myself."

Claire thought it over and was not ashamed to admit that it did sound almost like…fun. She had spent so much time taking care of Serah and making sure there was nothing in her life that could trouble her that she never had time to relax herself but could she do it? Would having fun with friends just go to show that she was already forgetting about Serah and moving on?

"I don't know if I can go Momo…"

"But _why_?" Momo half-begged and half-asked, "You said you were not doing anything tonight so why can't you go?"

She looked in Momo's eyes and for an instant was reminded of a time when Serah would have the same exact expression when she wanted something but couldn't understand why she didn't have it. That expression brought up a feeling within her that she hadn't felt for some time but she still shook her head, "It's not that I don't want to go it's just that I don't know if I should. You seem to get along with everyone else. No one really knows me."

"That's because you're always by yourself," Momo said frustrated and went to pull on her arm, "If you just take the time to hang out with the rest of the freshmen you might find you have things in common. That's how you make friends Claire."

While Momo fruitlessly pulled on her arm in a vain attempt to drag her out of her room Claire was busy thinking on what Momo had just said. In her attempts to figure out a solution to one problem she had inadvertently caused another. Perhaps she needed a change of perspective and sitting in her room all the time was certainly not going to give it. Coming to a decision she arched an eyebrow in veiled amusement as Momo pulled with all her might on her arm. It was a shame that for all Momo's strength her own spiritual energy was far greater.

"Just give it up Momo," she deadpanned after almost a minute, "If you keep trying to do that you're going to hurt yourself."

"Are you coming then?"

She sighed, "I guess I'll go. It's not like I had anything better to do…"

The sad tone in her voice went completely over Momo's head and the diminutive shinigami led Claire out of her room and down the hall. Despite the cheerful demeanor Momo emitted Claire couldn't help but feel that this was something she shouldn't do.

"_Serah…what should I do? I need your help please…"_

* * *

_..._

* * *

"Let this captain meeting commence!"

Yamamoto slammed the bottom of his cane on the floor, causing a loud echo to reverberate throughout the hall. As the last of the men and women walked into position on either side of him the captain-commander looked analytically at the eleven captains who represented the power of the Seireitei. After a moment of waiting he continued, "As most of you are aware Captain Braska is still recuperating from his injuries at the Fourth Division and will unfortunately be unable to attend. Captain Unohana, can you give us an timeframe as to his recovery?"

Retsu Unohana, captain of the Fourth Division and one of the most powerful and feared shinigami, shook her head and replied in a soft-spoken voice, "It is hard to say when he will be completely recovered. Some of his injuries were easy to heal yet others were so strange I have only just begun to figure out how to heal them."

"Very well then. Let us hope that he makes a swift and full recovery. Captain Aizen!" The captain-commander's attention shifted focus and topics to the Fifth Division captain; "You volunteered at Shin'ō Academy during the examination three days ago. What is your personal assessment of this latest crop of students?"

"My assessment?" Aizen said and stroked his chin, "That is an interesting question. As I have done in the past I stood outside the exam hall and directed a small amount of spiritual pressure inside. I, of course, kept the level of spiritual pressure down to about the strength of a mediocre fourth seat. I didn't want to cause any undo duress."

"Don't be such a pansy!" Zaraki Kenpachi growled, "Why bother being so light-footed about it? When I did it there was no one strong enough to pass. Obviously you weren't doing it right!"

"That's because you don't know the meaning of the word 'gentle' Kenpachi," a feminine voice replied.

Freya Crescent, the captain of the Seventh Division, wore an outfit that was quite unique from her fellow captains. Her shihakushō extended to just below her ankles and barely missed touching the ground as she walked and she wore a pointed black hat that covered most of her white hair as well as the upper part of her face. What was most interesting about her appearance was that she did not look human. One of her green eyes peered at Kenpachi from under her hat as she continued, "Those that take the academy exam aren't like your division members Kenpachi. They aren't used to dealing with your…nonsense."

"You trying to say something?" Kenpachi warned and moved one of his hands towards his zanpakuto.

Most shinigami, or really anyone in general, would be instantly cowed by the thought of facing an angry Kenpachi but Freya was an experienced and strong captain. She derisively shook her head and sighed, "Yes I am. The captain-commander told you, nine times as a matter of fact, how much of your spiritual pressure you were to release during the exam. He even demonstrated for you the maximum it should be and asked you to do so to him. And what is the first thing you do upon the start of the exam? You release your spiritual pressure to the level of your lieutenant. It is a wonder no one died during that fiasco."

"Come on, it wasn't _that_ bad."

"Yes it was," Freya deadpanned, "Your spiritual pressure knocked out all the students, the proctor in the room, and everyone within 200 meters of where you stood. It was even felt clear across the Seireitei."

Kenpachi made a tsk'ing sound, "You're exaggerating. I doubt anyone felt it at all."

"As a matter of fact they did," Unohana answered with a cold smile, "Your behavior at the academy was quite detrimental to my patients. Many of them developed complications from the burst of spiritual energy you released. I would prefer if you did not do it again."

A cold feeling washed over the room before Aizen coughed to regain their attention, "As I was saying there were 214 students this time with 189 male and 25 female. This is a nearly fifty percent drop from last spring due to Captain Kenpachi's…eagerness." Kenpachi snorted in annoyance before Aizen could continue, "Right. Out of those 214 students only eleven were spiritual powerful enough to withstand the spiritual pressure while displaying only minor symptoms such as nervousness, panic attacks, and fear. What I found interesting was that there was one student that did not seem to be affected by my spiritual pressure at all. If I had the time I would have liked to learn what her actual strength was."

"Someone's spiritual presence was stronger than a fourth seat and they were just now taking the exam? How did we not find this soul earlier?" Celes Chere, captain of the Third Division asked surprised.

"As much as we like to think so we are not gods," Aizen replied, "The Soul Society outside the Seireitei is vast with millions of souls. Finding one, even if they have a large amount of innate spiritual energy, is the equivalent of finding a needle in a very large haystack. The only possible way of finding them would be for them to do something that draws our attention."

"Tell me something Captain Aizen," Yamamoto asked, "What did this student look like?"

"Look like?" Aizen asked puzzled. Contemplating for a moment he answered, "My memory may be a bit hazy but I distinctly remember that she had pink hair. It was rather quite peculiar. I think her name was Claire…something."

The hall was silent as the captains waited to hear Yamamoto's response. Each of them was curious as to the reasoning behind their leader's interest in what was normally a quick discussion. After almost half a minute of tense waiting the captain-commander broke into a series of deep chuckles, "So what he said was true. I thought he was just trying to excuse his tardiness but to find out he found another one…"

"Oh I know that look," Shunsui said.

Jushiro Ukitake's eyes widened in realization and turned to Shunsui, "That cannot be right. It's been such a long time since the last one."

Several of the captains were lost in the conversation between the two old friends. It was Isshin Shiba, captain of the Tenth Division, who finally asked the question, "Yeah…I have no idea who you two are talking about. Do one of you mind filling in the gaps?"

"The person they are talking about is the lieutenant of the First Division, Caius Ballad," Celes answered for them.

"Caius?" Isshin asked and looked lost, "The guy with the purple hair? How does he have anything to do with this?"

Celes looked mortified at Isshin's lack of knowledge, "Are you really that dense? Caius Ballad is famous for recruiting shinigami that go on to become lieutenants and captains."

"Hey no need to get angry," Isshin pointed out.

Aizen found something odd about what Celes said, "How do you know that Captain Chere? I only became captain a few decades ago and I never heard anything like that about Lieutenant Ballad."

"I was captain of the Third Division before Rojuro Otoribashi however I was forced to step down due to personal issues," Celes explained with a small amount of hesitation, "I was content with the lack of responsibly and freedom until I heard about the missing souls incident and what happened to Rojuro. The Central 46 as well as the captain-commander asked me to resume my position as captain and here I am."

"That does make sense," Aizen admitted, "But what is so special about Lieutenant Ballad?"

"Lieutenant Caius Ballad has a knack some might say," Shunsui explained, "He is somehow able to sense those with the potential to be extraordinary shinigami. Caius might have been in the First Division for at least the last five hundred years but he is quite experienced in combat. If I was a betting man I would say he is probably the strongest or second-strongest lieutenant as of now."

"What is strange is that it has been nearly two hundred years since he last ventured out into the Rukongai to recruit a soul," Celes added.

"Really?" Aizen was becoming more and more interested about Caius. He did not know how such an important figure slipped under his radar, "I don't remember hearing about this person that Caius found. Who was he?"

"You probably already heard of him but just did not realize it," Jushiro said, "Caius's last recruit was Jecht Kenpachi of the Eleventh Division."

"Wait a damn second," Kenpachi butted in with a serious look on his face, "This Caius guy was the one who brought in the Ninth Kenpachi?"

"I didn't expect such interest from you Kenpachi," Freya playfully scoffed.

"Everyone in the Eleventh Division knows of Jecht and his accomplishments. It is said that he was among the strongest of all the Kenpachis and I am not ashamed to admit he might have bested me in a straight on fight. It's too bad that he's dead. It would have been an honor to have died in battle against him."

Everyone missed Unohana's slight flinch as Jushiro continued, "Jecht was truly a remarkable shinigami."

"How did he die?" Sui-Feng, captain of the Second Division asked. She was usually one of the few captains to not speak during these meetings unless asked a direct question but she could not hide her interest. She frowned as she recalled Lady Yoruichi speaking to someone called Jecht nearly a century ago when she had just joined the Onmitsukidō. She would not forget the uncouth and rude captain who somehow made Lady Yoruichi laugh from the stupidest jokes. When Jecht died Yoruichi had fallen into a depression for nearly a month and nothing Sui-Feng did or said could bring her out of it.

"He died fighting the vasto lorde known as Sin," Jushiro explained. Several captains noticed a small burst of spiritual pressure laced with anger emanate from the captain-commander at the mention of the name Sin. Sin had been a plague on the Soul Society for nearly two decades before finally being brought down. It was smart enough not to stay around too long and would only attack the higher number districts to limit the response from the Seireitei. Nearly one hundred shinigami, including a lieutenant, had died to Sin's attacks before Jecht had finally cornered and slain it.

"Sin was a smart vasto lorde but it eventually made a mistake," the sickly Thirteenth Division captain said, "During one of its last attacks it killed Jecht's sister and her young son Tidus. Not a lot of people knew it but Jecht had a soft spot for the boy. He hid it under the attitude of a gruff and rude man but ever since Tidus lost his father Jecht saw him as a surrogate son. He even talked about teaching Tidus how to use a sword. I will never forget the expression on Jecht's face when he received the news of their deaths. He simply stopped what he was doing and left the room. We found out later that he had left for the Rukongai to chase after Sin who by chance had just appeared. He battled the hollow for nearly two days before his injuries began catching up to him. Witnesses say that Sin attempted to take advantage of his weakness and attacked only to fall into Jecht's trap. He had hidden his zanpakuto under several illusionary kido spells throughout the fight and as Sin lunged he impaled it through the heart only for his injuries to catch up to him moments later. When we arrived we found that Jecht had died standing on his feet. He met his end without so much as a scratch on his back, a testament to the man who never turned his back from a battle."

"He was a true Kenpachi to the very end," Zaraki said in a rare solemn moment, "Kiganjo was not deserving of the name Kenpachi. He didn't kill Jecht or ever manage to would him. Ten times he fought Jecht and every time he was knocked unconscious by his first attack."

Yamamoto seemed to have enough and slammed his cane down once more, "If we are down dredging up old memories let us get back to business. It is with dismay that Captain Kuchiki has decided to retire from service."

At the announcement several captains muttered in disbelief. Ginrei Kuchiki raised a hand to placate them, "While I take heart in your words I have found that I have reached my limit. Each year that passes I feel my strength and speed diminish and soon they will be a level unbefitting of a captain. I will step down before the spring and my grandson Byakuya will take my place."

Shunsui seemed to find that amusing, "Little Byakuya finally grew up? I seem to remember a young boy with a temper who would bark at anything that pushed his buttons."

Ginrei didn't react to the joke, "Byakuya may have been an impulsive young boy once but he has grown into a fine young man. He is perhaps the strongest Kuchiki in generations and will do the clan proud."

Freya scratched at her chin and turned to Ginrei, "I seem to remember Byakuya attempting to challenge me when he was younger. He was so headstrong he released his shikai as soon as I accepted…Senbonzakura was it? Is that the type of person we want to become your replacement? He may have obtained bankai and matured but is he truly ready?"

"Byakuya has been training to be my replacement for nearly a decade now. He has seen how the Sixth Division operates as well as what it will take to gain the loyalty of the division. I believe that he is ready to replace me."

Yamamoto looked critically at Ginrei before closing his eyes, "If that is what you wish we shall test your grandson at our earliest convenience."

"Thank you captain-commander."

With nothing further to discuss Yamamoto slammed his cane once more onto the floor and barked, "Dismissed!"

* * *

...

* * *

Claire closed her eyes and sighed in content while lying upon the soft grass in the academy courtyard. It was the rare times like this where her mind was able to let go of all its worries that her troubles seemed to melt away and she was able to think clearly.

"_**Pathetic."**_

She abruptly sat up at the deep voice. Claire did not know how she recognized that voice but she knew it came from the figure in her dreams. _"But that's impossible,"_ she thought hastily. In all her nightmares the armored man had never once spoken, grunted, or even make a noise except for the sounds of his armor. Calming down she felt something cool trickle down her face and realized it was sweat.

"_Am I losing it when I start having nightmares while awake?"_

"Something the matter Claire?" a voice next to her asked.

She grumbled silently when she realized her startled reaction must have drawn Renji's attention. "What?" she asked as level as she could. It would be really bad if Renji knew she was starting to hear voices that weren't there, "Nothing. I just thought I heard something. Must have been my imagination."

"Well I didn't hear anything," Renji replied and laid back on the grass, "I've just been laying here in the sun before classes start. I would have tried to sleep in a tree again but after that whole fiasco with Kira and Rukia I figure staying out in the open is the best place to hide. Best damn decision I ever made! In fact I haven't heard a single annoying sound since coming here with you."

"Aha! There you are Renji!"

Claire could literally hear the sarcasm drip off Renji's voice, "And there goes that dream."

He really should have known was would happen if he said that. One second Renji was lying peacefully next to Claire and the next Rukia appeared out of thin air and smashed her petite foot into his stomach. He impressively bent nearly in half as his internal organs were both rearranged and nearly pulverized all at once. Coughing harshly as Rukia removed her foot he seethed, "What the hell was that for? Are you trying to kill me or something you little brat?"

"Little brat?" Rukia coldly asked as a twitch developed over her left eye, "Is that what you call your best friend? Or do you refer to her as an _annoying sound_?"

Renji held his stomach as he stood up, "I call it as I see it. Besides you weren't here. How do you even know what was said?"

The look on Rukia's face suggested she knew far more than she revealed, "I have my sources. Now then are you going to apologize to me?"

"I might have if you hadn't tried to murder me," he shouted and pointed to his stomach for emphasis, "Haven't you ever heard of the phrase 'disproportionate retribution'?"

"What big words you know Renji," Rukia mocked, "Did you get Claire, Momo, or even Kira to teach you them?"

Claire turned away from the bickering pair and tried to turn invisible. Rukia didn't need to know that Renji had actually bothered to look up those words after getting suspicious about a couple of her veiled insults towards him. She had been genuinely surprised when he had finally called her out on one of them, "I will have you know I learned all these words from the Pictionary myself!"

"It's dictionary Renji," Claire couldn't help but point out. She guiltily took a small amount of satisfaction from the way his face fell in embarrassment.

"Fine! Whatever!" he said in defeat and sat back down on the ground, "Why are you even here Rukia? I thought you had a special visitor from a noble clan?"

"I did," she said and sat next to him, "But it turns out something important is going on in his clan and he will have to postpone it until next year. He left a note asking for forgiveness for his tardiness and that I would really appreciate what he will have to say when he finally does come."

"This guy sounds like a big stick in the mud."

"What?" Rukia shouted shocked and turned to Claire, "Do you think that too?"

She frowned and thought on her answer, "It seems to me that if he was serious about meeting with you he would have made sure nothing was going on. The fact he wrote a letter to you excusing his absence on the day he was supposed to come really says a lot about him. If I were you I would just forget about him and move on. It's not like you met the man before, what's the most you could lose?"

"I suppose you're right," Rukia said sadly and Claire felt bad. When she had first arrived in the Rukongai she heard the stories about the noble families of the Seireitei. For one of them to take an interest in Rukia was both a cause for celebration as well as suspicion.

"Cheer up Rukia!" said Renji as he attempted to wrap an arm around her shoulders only to be punched in the face.

"Idiot!" she seethed.

"I was just going to say that being here is at least better then living in the Rukongai," he explained while rubbing his sore cheek.

"You may actually have a point there," Rukia admitted before her eyes widened, "Hey, we never found where you're from Claire."

Renji quickly caught on, "That's right. Momo told us she's from the 1st District, Rukia and I come from the 78th and even Kira told us where he's from. Do you know how long it took to weasel it out of him?"

Claire rolled her eyes, "That's not my problem but if it makes you feel better I'm from the 5th District."

"That's bull."

Both Rukia and Claire looked at Renji, "I don't believe for a moment you're from one of those snooty lower districts."

"And your reason is?" she needed to hear how Renji came to that conclusion.

"It's well…everything about you," he meandered with his hands.

"Oh?" she coldly asked, secretly making Rukia proud at how she was able to make Renji flinch slightly.

"It's your behavior for one. I've met people from the lower districts before and nine times out of ten they think they're better then everyone else. They walk around and act as if they were born to be better then us and do nothing to prove it. You though, you act as if everyone is out to get you. As if the entire Soul Society is every man for themselves. If I had to guess I would say you're from the higher divisions. Somewhere around seventy."

"Anything else you'd like to share?" she asked mockingly. It was better that Renji said everything now instead of stewing on it and potentially doing some digging in the future.

"Hmm," he thought and scratched his cheek, "You tend to keep everything short and to the point. When you're from the higher divisions you tend to not like to talk a lot. Those that talk generally can't back it up and are the ones picked on and attacked."

"You and Rukia seem to do a lot of talking for people from the 78th District," she pointed out.

Renji pointed to Rukia who seemed unamused at being mentioned in the discussion, "That's because we ran with a gang for quite a few years. We became famous enough that our reputation allowed us a chance to sit back and relax."

She was both impressed and peeved at Renji for guessing. He may not have been book smart or even that intelligent in general but he had an analytical mind for detail that even surprised her at times. Resting her head on her arms and leaning back onto the ground she sighed, "I am from the 5th District but before that I lived in the 68th for nearly fifteen years."

"How did you get out?" Rukia asked in earnest.

"I had to save up every Kan that I made. It wasn't easy at all and I would like to just drop it."

Thankfully the awkward silence that followed the conversation was broken up about five minutes later when Momo came racing towards them while dragging Kira by his wrist. While Momo seemed generally happy her unlucky accomplice seemed to be anything but and was trying to desperately hold onto the pile of papers under his arm.

"Come on Kira! They're right over there!"

"Please let go of my wrist Momo. If you pull on it any harder you'll break my arm," Kira begged. Momo just seemed to ignore him and reached the three of them a couple of seconds later. When she let go to wave at them Kira took the opportunity to move a couple of feet to his right in case his kidnapper decided to try and pull him along again.

"Hey Kira. I see Momo dragged you along too," Renji noticed and waved in return.

"Yeah," Kira gloomily responded, "Momo found out that our schedules were posted and decided to come over as soon as possible to tell you."

"How did you get involved then?"

"I really don't know. One minute I was walking through the halls and the next Momo had dumped the schedules in my arms and was pulling me here."

Rukia maneuvered around the group and grabbed her schedule from the stack, "Let me see mine!"

While her eyes scanned her list Kira took the chance to pass the rest out at his own pace, "Here's yours Renji, Momo and Claire."

"Hell yeah! I got into the advanced class!" Renji shouted and jumped into the air.

"You got into the special accelerated program?" Rukia asked horrified. It was clear from her reaction that she did not make it in as well, "We got about the same grade on the exam so how did you get in and I didn't?"

Renji rubbed a finger under his nose and looked haughtily at Rukia, "I guess we now know who is the real genius between us."

Rukia started growling and moved to hit Renji but was stopped by Claire shocked announcement, "I got into the accelerated program…with recommendations?"

"Recommendations?" the four asked at once. Getting recommendation at Shin'ō Academy meant that a captain had seen potential in a student and was willing to vouch for them as they progressed through the classes. It was basically the highest honor a freshman could get.

"That is amazing Claire," Kira said with uncommon enthusiasm in his voice, "Which captain did you impress to get the recommendation?"

"That's just it. I don't think I even met a captain before coming here," she explained. She was uncertain what was going on but everything had just become confusing to her. First that strange shinigami shows up out of nowhere and throws her entire life out of balance and now a captain was interested in her. At this point she just wished she never developed spiritual powers in the first place.

"It's a great honor Claire," Momo said, "It means that someone sees that you'll be a great shinigami."

"That's just it Momo, I didn't do anything to deserve this."

"Someone thought otherwise," Kira sagely added, "You might not see anything special about yourself but someone else obviously did."

"I guess…"

"So what classes you got Claire?" Renji asked and attempted to look over her shoulder only to have a hand shoved into his face, "Step back Renji and I might tell you."

The redhead wisely did as he was told and Claire began reading over her schedule, "Apparently we have four core course: Zanjutsu, Kido, Hoho, and Hakuda. The first half of the year is Kido and Zanjutsu while in the spring we have Hoho and Hakuda. I guess they don't want to give us too much to focus on."

"Oh man I don't want to take Kido," Renji whined and buried his hand in his hands, "I know I'm going to suck at all that magic stuff. I bet it will blow up in my face when I try to cast a spell."

Momo patted him on his back, "You don't know that Renji."

"But I'm no good at remember things. How the hell am I supposed to memorize long chants for spells?"

"I don't know," Momo admitted, "But you can't possibly know that until you try. If it makes you feel any better there are optional classes you can take. They come in a wide variety of topics!"

"I'm thinking of taking that optional haiku course," Kira added, "I've always been fascinated by such poetry."

"Maybe I'll sign up for that dancing class," a small voice barely said above a whisper.

Everybody, including Claire, turned and stared at Rukia who seemed to want to be anywhere else. "What?" she shouted embarrassed, "I like dancing? Any of you have a problem with that?"

"Well _I'm_ signing up for the calligraphy class. I heard that the captain that teaches it is really smart and handsome," Momo said with a blush.

Claire found herself slightly disgusted by Momo's infatuation, "You haven't even met the captain yet. Don't go forming opinions or falling in love until you at least talk to the man."

"That's your opinion Claire," Momo huffed, "Besides you don't get a chance to complain about what electives I take until you tell us what you're taking."

"That's simple," she said just barely after Momo had finished talking, "I'm not taking any electives…at least for my freshman year."

"I'm with Claire," Renji said, "We don't even know how hard the core courses are going to be. Why bury ourselves under the weight of extra classes?"

"Everyone's entitled to their own choices," she finished. With a sigh she stood up and turned towards the main building of the academy, "Now if you will all excuse me I have business to take care of."

"Where are you going Claire?" Momo asked.

She mentally grimaced at that comment and her brain worked itself into a frenzy coming up with an excuse. Biting her lower lip she gave the best answer she could think of, "I am expecting a letter from a friend in the Rukongai. I was supposed to let them know if I got into Shin'ō Academy."

"They must have been really proud of you," Renji smugly said, ignorant of the fact that was the opposite of the truth.

"Yeah," she replied calmly and stoically but inside she was tearing up. It seemed that everyone's friends and families besides her own were happy and proud that they got into Shin'ō Academy. Even getting into the special accelerated program, with a captain's recommendation no less, did nothing to make her forget that. She was beginning to think that coming here was the worst decision of her life.

She managed to keep herself composed when she turned back one last time, "I'll catch you guys in about thirty minutes for lunch ok?"

Momo energetically waved back to her, "Don't be late! We're going to have curry!"

"Curry?" she heard Renji groan, "You know that I hate spicy food!"

That last remark was followed by the sound of Renji's face hitting the ground, "Oh grow up and deal with it Renji!"

"Damn it why'd you do that Rukia?"

"As long we have peaches!"

"For lunch Momo? Really?" Kira asked with slight disgust apparent in his voice.

Claire bowed her head causing several of her pink locks fell onto her face as she walked away from the group, _"Do I deserve to have such friends when I can't even keep my family?_

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_..._

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_**Author's Note:** Yeah…Lightning thinks nothing is going the way it should for her. She no longer has her sister and she fears she is going to replace Serah with her new friends. Don't worry everything will eventually work out. Maybe not in this chapter or the next…or even the next five but eventually Lightning will be reunited with Serah and all will be well._

_Let's see…what new Final Fantasy characters did I introduce in this chapter? There was Celes Chere, Freya Crescent, and Sir Jecht (and of course Sin) from the various Final Fantasy games. There was also a stealth cameo or two by a few other Final Fantasy characters so try and find them! I did my best to keep their general personalities the same but for characters like Celes it's really touch-and-go because the game came out so long ago. So to recap the various positions in the Seireitei filled by Final Fantasy characters in both the past and present are as follows:_

_Celes Chere (Final Fantasy VI)__ – Current captain of the Third Division_

_Freya Crescent (Final Fantasy IX)__ – Current captain of the Seventh Division_

_Braska (Final Fantasy X)__ – Current captain of the Ninth Division_

_Jecht Kenpachi (Final Fantasy X)__ – Ex-captain of the Eleventh Division and the Ninth Kenpachi_


	4. Chapter 4: Revelations

_Welcome to the fourth chapter of The Crystal Rose Shinigami. My last chapter basically doubled the number of reviews for this story which means people are are starting to become interested in it. I thank all of the readers who take the time to actually write up a review after finishing a chapter. Anyway on with the story!_

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_**The Crystal Rose Shinigami**_

_Chapter 4: Revelations_

Nearly two thousand years ago Shin'ō Academy was gifted with five training fields specifically designed for Kido practice. In Training Field #4 the peace and quiet of the mid-morning fall was disturbed by a loud bang followed by a series of particular curse words.

Renji, the source of both sounds, gingerly pulled himself out of the indentation his body made in the wall surrounding the training field and dusted off his shihakushō. That was the fifth time since the start of class that he had somehow managed to use a kido on himself. Undaunted and growing stubborn at his lack of apparent success he prepared to try and cast the kido again. He could only fail so many times before actually doing it.

"Mr. Abarai," a stern voice called out and Renji grimaced, "If you continue to persist in making a mockery of such a simple Kido spell I will see to it that you are taken out of the accelerated program."

He bit his lip and responded, "Yes Professor Belgemine."

"Good," Lulu Belgemine, instructor of Kido at Shin'ō Academy and lieutenant of the Kido Corps, said dryly. Unlike the majority of shinigami who wore the standard shihakushō with only minor cosmetic modifications Lulu had configured hers to resemble a Gothic dress, its hem barely skirting above the ground. While a conservative woman known for her icy and detached demeanor, the shoulders of her shihakushō pulled down to her arms with the only things holding them up being a pair of black leather straps that crisscrossed across her chest and around her back.

"I do not want to hear your empty promises Mr. Abari," she scolded, her red eyes boring into his soul, "I want to see you actually try and succeed. Did you come to this academy to fail at the most basic of kido? At the rate you're progressing half of your fellow students will be shinigami by the time you cast a perfect Shō."

"I know," Renji groaned. He had been trying his damned hardest with Shō but for some reason it wasn't working and he didn't need her pointing out what he already knew, "I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. I'm reciting the entire incantation and doing the correct movement but every time I do it, it blows up in my face."

"The entire incantation you say?" Lulu arched a manicured eyebrow. It was common knowledge that reciting the entire incantation for a kido increased the overall power by a factor of three. What was less commonly known was that the chant also increased the stability of the kido. A shinigami of sufficient power could always force their way around the incantation but they increase the risk of the kido not working or exploding in their face.

"Do it again," she ordered.

"Yes ma'am," Renji solidified his stance before pointing a finger at the straw dummy propped up several feet away. Taking a deep breath he began reciting:

_Remove the enemy that stands before me! Repulse the object that offends me! Grant me your strength divine gravity! Hadō #1! Shō!_

Much like during his previous attempts instead of the dummy being pushed back by a pulse of spiritual energy Renji found himself flying through the air headfirst instead. Before he could hit the wall surrounding the training field he found himself suspended in midair within some sort of glowing blue net. Looking around he saw Lulu standing lazily with her pointer and index finger extended towards him and her thumb held perpendicular to them.

"That was Bakudō #37 Tsuriboshi if you are wondering," she said with a bit of pride in her voice.

"But…how?"

A smile graced Lulu's lips, "Are you asking how I managed to cast it so quickly or how I knew to use it? Which question would you preferred I answer first?"

"How did you do that so quickly without any incantation?" he managed to get out in between his sputters.

"Did you forget who you are talking to Mr. Abarai?" Lulu asked, "It took years of practice to get to the level of skill I possess. Perhaps if you try harder you might be able to do so as well one day." Her demeanor quickly shifted and with a snap of her fingers the Tsuriboshi vanished in a cascade of light and Renji fell in a disorganized heap onto the grass.

"Get up and try it again Mr. Abarai," she ordered, "But this time put your left hand against your right elbow before casting."

He nodded and did as he was told. When he wasn't blown off his feet he was ecstatic and jumped into the air, "I did it! How did you know that would work Professor Belgemine?"

"Despite the overall simplicity of Shō," Lulu began to explain and Renji was convinced she was somehow mocking him as well, "The actual flow of spiritual energy through the body is extraordinarily complex." She walked over to him and pointed to his elbow, "When the incantation is cast the spiritual energy runs down your right arm and through your pointer finger as a burst of concentrated pressure that can repulse an opponent. As the spiritual energy moves it builds up more in the elbow then anywhere else. Inexperienced practitioners will be unable to compensate for this pressure and the kido will backfire upon them."

"So my hand was acting as a brace?" Renji guessed.

Lulu nodded, "Precisely Mr. Abarai. As you gain experience your body will eventually be able to compensate for the pressure without your conscious effort. Until that point you must use your hand as a release for your spiritual energy. If you have no questions continue to cast Shō until you are able to do so without a handicap."

She watched with pride as Renji redoubled his efforts to master Shō. Every so often a student passes through her class that is so terrible at kido that no matter the difficulty they are unable to cast it without it either backfiring or blowing up in their face. Renji, thankfully, did not seem to be bad at kido. Rather it appeared that he had absolutely no _skill_ with it and skill, unlike ability, can be improved upon with practice. As long as he doesn't slack off and practices every day there is no reason for him to not achieve a level of competence found in most shinigami. Lulu turned to inspect the progress of the other students when she heard a voice chanting a familiar, and dangerous, kido.

"Hadō #4! Byakurai!"

Lulu was moving before the burst of blue-white lightning had left Momo's hand. With a simple shifting of her left foot and an extended palm the Byakurai was swallowed with a makeshift kido spell of her own design that redirected the spell straight into the sky. With fury in her eyes she stalked over to Momo who was confused over what had happened to her kido, "What do you think you were doing Miss Hinamori?"

Momo flinched at the harsh tone, "I was just-"

"You were just disregarding the rules I explained before today's class and putting your fellow students in danger. That is what you were doing," she finished for the girl. Momo seemed to grow more and more nervous as she realized just how much trouble she was in, "Is there anything you have to say for yourself or should I just throw you out of class for endangering your fellow students?"

"Throw me out?" Momo asked hysterically.

"I specifically told you to practice Shō and nothing else."

"But I already mastered Shō and can cast it without the incantation. I just wanted to try out something new!"

"Trying out something new is fine Miss Hinamori," Lulu said. She was beginning to calm down and her normal stoic personality had reasserted itself quickly, "But Byakurai is not taught in the initial classes for a reason. Can you explain what that is?"

"Umm…" Momo wracked her brain for an answer, "Because it's dangerous?"

Lulu nodded, "Precisely Miss Hinamori. Unlike Shō which simply pushes away a target without causing any direct damage to the body, Byakurai is much more dangerous because it destroys everything it touches. If a shinigami does not have the proper skill and willpower it can overload and kill both the caster as well as anyone near them. You may have the skill to cast it but I'm fairly sure you still lack the proper willpower to control and direct it."

"But-"

"What would you have done if your Byakurai had veered towards the students? Facing away from them is smart but Byakurai is pure lightning. It could have easily circled around you without your control."

By this point Momo was almost in tears, "I'm sorry."

Lulu sighed and rubbed a kink in her neck. She wanted Momo to understand the inherent risks of offense kidos not tear her down to the point of tears. With a hand she gently held Momo's chin and looked into the girl's teary eyes, "There is no reason to cry Miss Hinamori. It is impressive that you were able to cast a Byakurai on the first day of class with flawless technique but you are not quite at the level of control necessary to command them. Stick to practicing Shō or help your fellow students if you have mastered it as you say."

Momo wiped away the tears in her eyes and smiled at the praise, "Thank you Professor Belgemine."

Across the training field Claire had watched Lulu scold Renji. She already knew that Renji was horrendous at kido. He had reminded them about it at least twice a day ever since finding out he needed to learn it. Seeing him cast Shō only for the spell to push him backwards into a wall several times had brought a faint smile to her lips however after the third time it had lost its amusement value and just became sad. It is one thing to not be able to cast a kido but having it actively hit you back was just pathetic.

When Momo had cast Byakurai after simply reading the incantation once she had become jealous even if she would never admit it. How had she been able to pick the intricacies of the kido, the various hand movements and spiritual energy flow from just _reading_ about it in a book? Either there was something she was missing or Momo was just that good at kido. At the rate she was progressing her opinion was starting to lean towards the former.

Taking a deep breath and focusing her spiritual energy as Lulu had instructed she pointed a finger at the dummy, braced her elbow with her left hand, and began to chant:

_Remove the enemy that stands before me! Repulse the object that offends me! Grant me your strength divine gravity! Hadō #1! Shō!_

Nothing happened. Much like her previous attempts no pulse of spiritual energy emerged from her finger towards the target. There wasn't even a backlash like Renji had experienced and even that would have shown she was at least doing _something_. Frustrated, she ran a hand through her pink hair and tried to figure out where she was going wrong, _"Think, what could be the problem?"_

She looked around the field for a possible solution and saw the other students having at least partial success with Shō. Even Renji was starting to cast it without any backlash occurring. She growled in anger as the realization that she was the only one still unable to do anything flooded her mind.

"_Could it be that I'm simply not putting enough spiritual energy into the kido? Professor Belgemine gave just the hand motions and incantation but never said how much energy the spell needs. Could it simply be I'm putting too little energy into it? There's only one way to find out."_

She took a deep breath and focused herself by attempting to clear her mind of everything. No sounds, no sights, and no distractions. Feeling the familiar well of energy that was her spiritual core she called upon it and was pleased when a large amount of spiritual energy was released. Invigorated by her apparent success she held her arm out and began reciting the incantation:

_Remove the enemy that stands before me! Repulse the object that offends me! Grant me your strength divine gravity! Hadō #1! –_

Her ears picked up the sound of leather soles racing across the grass before she was even aware of it. Her eyes widened in astonishment as a well-manicured hand with purple nail polish grabbed her wrist and painfully shoved her arm skyward.

"What-"

The explosion of force nearly caused her to go deaf as she was painfully blown backwards along the ground before skidding to a stop several meters later. Claire gasped for breath as her vision filled with black and red spots courtesy of the explosion and subsequent collision with the ground. Weakly getting to her feet she was stunned by what she saw. The entire top few feet of the wall surrounding the training field as well as parts of the roofs of the buildings across the street had been blasted into dust with only a lingering cloud of particulates as evidence that they weren't built like that initially. Before she could do anything else she found her arms painfully forced behind her back by a wordless Sai and she haphazardly fell back to the ground.

"Were you attempting to kill yourself Miss Farron?" Lulu demanded with such ferocity in her voice that Claire was nearly cowed into submission.

She managed to thankfully compose herself and glared right back, "What are you talking about? Everything was fine until you interfered."

"Interfered?" Lulu repeated with such a chill in her voice that Claire knew instantly she had made a mistake, "My 'interference' as you call it is what saved your life Miss Farron and you would do well to be respectful towards your better."

Claire managed to sit up even with her arms pinned behind her, "Any how was I going to kill myself? Shō is simple repulsion. The worst that could happen is being pushed back like Renji was."

"Normally that is correct," Lulu said with condescension dripping off her voice, "But you overpowered your Shō so much that it had become fatal to anyone within its path. If I hadn't managed to redirect it upwards you would have decimated everything within fifty meters of your hand as well as injured who knows how many people and shinigami with your recklessness." With a snap of her fingers the kido binding Claire's arms shattered and she was given control of her arms back.

"I just wanted it to work," she quietly said not moving with her head hanging down, "I didn't even realize I was putting too much power into it."

There was nearly ten seconds of silence before she heard Lulu sigh, "I think, Miss Farron, that you need to leave my class right now."

Her heart dropped so quickly she almost forgot to breathe, "What?"

"Casting kido requires a clear state of mind," Lulu explained. Before continuing she leaned in close enough so that only Claire could hear what she had to say, "While some emotion is allowed due to the flux of battle those in a weakened state of mind, such as yourself, will find themselves unable to cast even the most basic of kido unless that overpower it tremendously. Unless you fix whatever is troubling you this entire class is a pointless waste of time. Now go."

She glared at Lulu who stood there waiting to see her answer. After a moment she grit her teeth and left the field, uncaring about the student she nearly knocked over in the process. Renji tried to stop her only to be brushed off.

"Get out of my way Renji."

"Like hell I will Claire," he said and stood directly in between her and the exit, "What's the matter with you?"

"That's none of your business now _move_."

"No. Not until-"

"Let her go Mr. Abarai."

He turned and saw Lulu slowly walking across the field, "But Professor Belgemine-"

"I said let her leave," Lulu ordered again. They both watched as Claire shoved around Renji and disappeared into a nearby building, "You may be friends with Miss Farron but this is a problem that she needs to solve on her own. While your dedication to your friendship is admirable I am afraid that if you attempt to help her it will only make things worse."

Renji looked torn on what to do when a familiar voice called out to his relief, "Uh, Professor Belgemine may I please use the restroom?"

Lulu cocked her head to the side and turned to look at Kira. She gave a knowing smirk at him and Kira almost gave up when she answered, "You may Mr. Izuru but please make sure to take no more then ten minutes. Any more and I will be forced to come look for you."

Kira looked relieved and quickly jogged to the exit, "Thank you professor."

Renji was flabbergasted at what just happened, "But-"

"What are you confused about Mr. Abarai?" Lulu asked with mock confusion, "Mr. Izuru is simply using the restroom. What he does on the way there is none of my concern. Now if you will excuse me there are other students who need my guidance at the moment."

He stood there unmoving in shock at what just happened. Professor Belgemine had subtlety allowed Kira to leave class to talk to Claire in such a roundabout way that he hadn't seen it coming until she had given permission. Perhaps, he thought, Kira was the better option to speak to Claire. If he tried to talk to her anything they say would eventually devolve into shouting and he would probably get a black eye or broken nose…again.

"_Good luck Kira. You'll need it,"_ he thought and yelped when a low-powered electric kido hit the ground near his feet.

"I said get back to practicing Mr. Abarai. That means no resting."

"_She's a witch,"_ Renji thought fearfully as he began casting Shō at a record pace.

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Fang Oerba, lieutenant of the Eleventh Division and all around badass, was in a good mood. For the first time in recent memory she had managed to give all her paperwork to the third and fifth seats, over their complaining protests, which her captain had physically thrown at her. Taking a swig from her sake bottle she wondered why the captain-commander constantly ordered his subordinates to put the paperwork in front of Kenpachi if he is just going to throw it out the window as soon as they leave. It was painfully obvious that her captain was really nothing more than a giant of a child but she would never say that to his face. The risk of impalement by zanpakuto was too high.

"_Why did I become lieutenant again?"_

To this day she couldn't get drunk enough to understand the sequence of events that had transpired. One day she was sitting, bored and half-asleep, in one of Gengoro Onabara's mandatory and highly dull classes when her future captain had kicked the door to the classroom open. He was covered in blood, which had scared the crap out of half the class,, but she could tell none of it belonged to him. Without saying a single word he had stalked up to her and threw her onto his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. She could still remember what he told Onabara as he left:

"_Oi! I'm taking her with me."_

"_Uh…who are you?" Onabara had asked._

"_Who am I? I'm the new captain of the Eleventh Division, Kenpachi Zaraki!"_

It was only after she was unceremoniously dumped in the Eleventh Division barracks that she found out her captain had killed the previous Kenpachi not even an hour before he kidnapped her. Sometimes she wondered what went through that deeply disturbing mind of his and every time she developed a headache. Finishing off the sake she slammed the bottle onto the roof she had been lying on and sighed in contentment, "Ah! That hit the spot. It's too bad I'm all out of sake. Ikkaku won't buy me anymore and Yumichika keeps changing where he hides his money. Hmm…perhaps Tifa will help me search for her captain's secret stash?"

"Die Fangy!"

"_Oh not again…"_

In one swift movement Fang leaned back as a black and pink blur flew overhead. Grabbing her assassin by the scruff of the neck Fang stood up and growled in annoyance, "What is it this time Yachiru? Can't you see I'm busy relaxing?"

Yachiru Kusajishi, fourth seat of the Eleventh Division and Kenpachi's adoptive daughter, pouted cutely and swung her zanpakuto around. However the enormous difference in size between her and Fang caused it to come up short, "You know what I want Fangy! Today's the day I finally defeat you and become Kenny's lieutenant!"

"Oh really? That's cute…" Fang smirked and shook Yachiru around for a few seconds to get her to stop flailing about. She didn't know why Yachiru was so intent on become lieutenant but that didn't mean she had to just put up with it, "That's really cute Yachiru but how do you plan on doing that when it didn't work yesterday, or the day before that, or the day before that…"

"But…I…shut up!" Yachiru growled but due to her age it didn't come out nearly as menacing as she wished and Fang chuckled in amusement, "Put me down!"

"Why should I?" Fang asked, "And by the way, just how did you plan on beating me?"

Yachiru began biting Fang's hand, "Because today is the day I caught you after you finished drinking all your sake. You're too drunk to put up a fight!"

Fang held in a wince as Yachiru's teeth bit into her skin. How that girl had such sharp teeth she would never know, "It'll take a lot more than a single bottle of sake to get me drunk kid."

At the mention of 'kid' Yachiru redoubled her flailing and tried to bite down harder. Fang knew that would happen and readjusted her grip so that all her beautiful unmarred skin was out of the range of her teeth. Yachiru didn't like to be called a kid and frankly, anyone who grew up in the 79th District without dying had her respect. Still, she couldn't go around letting people know that so she simply smirked, "What's wrong kid? You look a little upset. Is it your nap time already?"

"Stop calling me kid!"

"Fine, fine," Fang lowered Yachiru onto the roof. As soon as she was free the small fourth seat pouted and turned away causing Fang to roll her eyes, "What's the matter now?"

Yachiru stuck her tongue out, "You never fight me seriously! You always trick me into not fighting you or you go easy on me! How am I supposed to become Kenny's lieutenant if you don't fight me?"

Fang stared at Yachiru's adorable version of an angry face and laughed, which only helped to irk the fourth seat. "There are two reasons why I don't take your little challenges seriously," and for emphasis she held up two fingers, "First of all if I did fight you with everything I had the captain will kill me. He won't stop there. He'll kill me, wait for me to be reincarnated, hunt me down and kill me again. Besides, are you even aware of how much _work_ it is to be lieutenant?"

"Work?" Yachiru shuddered and looked fearfully at Fang as if hoping she was lying. Fang guiltily took a small amount of pleasure from the reaction and wondered if she should keep going.

"_Oh screw it."_

"Of course work. Did you think being lieutenant was just lounging around all day doing nothing?" By the expression on Yachiru's face that was exactly what the girl thought, "Since our captain is so…excited, all the paperwork for the division is given to me. I spend hours each day doing that boring stuff."

"But you're not working whenever I see you!" Yachiru countered wildly flailing her arms.

"Ahh…" Fang said dramatically, "That is because I have to work through the night. All that work means I have no time to play…"

"No playing?" Yachiru whimpered.

"And of course I can't eat candy with all the pressure of being lieutenant."

"No candy?" This was turning into a nightmare for Yachiru.

Fang cleared her throat dramatically, "And let's not forget the meetings I have to go to. Boring, boring meetings where you have to stay awake for _hours_ listening to other people talk on and on without rest. And don't forget the mandatory tests-"

"Nooo!" Yachiru shouted. She rolled around on the roof with her head gripped in her hands, "I don't want to be lieutenant anymore!"

Fang grinned, "Then you better run far and fast Yachiru. On the other hand perhaps I will just let you have the job. I could use a vacation…"

She was impressed at the speed of Yachiru's shunpo as the pink-haired girl quickly vanished from the roof. Who knew all that sugar the little pink nightmare devoured was actually good for something besides bouncing around? Fang waited a minute before breaking out into laughter so intense she was nearly crying.

"I can't believe she fell for that," a voiced scolded, "Especially since none of what you just said is true. Mandatory exams? Really?"

Fang turned her head and stared at the interloper, "Oh give it a rest. She doesn't know that."

"Don't give me that look lieutenant. You always pass on your paperwork to Yumichika or myself and besides, since when do you _ever_ go to the lieutenant meetings?"

"I went to the last one didn't I?" she huffed.

"Only because the captain ordered you to go under the threat of babysitting Yachiru for five months."

Having enough of the backtalk Fang lay back down on the roof and closed her eyes to take a nap, "Why don't you just shut up and leave Ikkaku? I'm tired and need to rest. Come get me in a couple of hours or something."

Ikkaku Madarame, third seat and unofficial secretary of the Eleventh Division, sighed in frustration and rubbed his eyes with a hand. His lieutenant was probably lazier outside of combat than his captain; "The captain's not going to be pleased when he finds out what you said to Yachiru. You know how much she likes to talk to him."

"Oh please," Fang waved his threat off without so much as a change in her pulse, "Like the captain's going to believe anything Yachiru has to say about me. Remember what happened with the confetti?"

He suppressed a shudder as he vividly remembered when Fang had somehow given Yachiru a large box of confetti she picked up in the Human World and said 'go have fun.' Somehow within an hour of opening the box Yachiru had managed to cover nearly half of the Seireitei under red, blue and green streamers that pissed off more than a couple of people. Fang had stuck with him the entire time as an alibi, as she later told him, right until the captain appeared. Apparently Yachiru had decided to visit him first out of love and the bloodthirsty Kenpachi, who had a body count in the thousands, was literally a walking monument of confetti. While Fang had started laughing their captain had stalked right past them with an aura of death emanating from him in waves. Some time later Kenpachi had found Yachiru and demanded to know where she got the confetti. Without even thinking the girl said that 'Fangy gave her the shiny string and to go have fun!'

When Ikkaku felt his captain's spiritual pressure envelope the Seireitei he had fully expected Fang to die. In fact a betting pool had been created to see how long Fang would last until the captain found her. Several hours and about ten thousand Kan later still alive and healthy Fang walked into the Eleventh Division barracks without so much as a scratch on her. There had been demands to know how she was alive but Fang said that it was a secret and that the problem is fixed. Somehow the lieutenant had convinced the captain that she had nothing to do with it and to this day no one knows what she actually did or said.

"Please do not mention the confetti ever again lieutenant. You didn't have to clean it up even thought it was clearly you're fault!"

"My fault?" Fang said with feigned surprise, "I was under the assumption that Yachiru was to blame."

"That's crap and you know it," Ikkaku grumbled before reaching inside his shihakushō for something, "Anyway that's not why I came here. You got a message from Shin'ō Academy. It looks pretty important."

"Tch, are those idiots still peeved that I didn't officially graduate?"

Ikkaku just looked at her, "I didn't open it. I have no idea what it says."

"Read what it says to me."

"You know I can't do that lieutenant."

She stared at Ikkaku for several long seconds in the hopes that she could somehow mind control him into opening and reading it for her. When Ikkaku actually backed away Fang grumbled in annoyance and gave up trying. She could have pulled rank and ordered him but she wasn't convinced that would have actually worked. As she read the letter the boredom and laziness she had been feeling began to vanish and was replaced by a deep and satisfying feeling of contentment. Something she did must have scared the crap out of Ikkaku because he took several more steps back, "Is…everything alright lieutenant?"

"Fine. Why do you ask?"

"Because…" Ikkaku trailed off as if the words he wanted to say failed to come out, "Because…you're doing the face again."

The face, as Ikkaku called it, happened whenever something exciting happened to Fang that helped to greatly reduce her level of boredom. A couple of years ago Yumichika had compared it to the look the captain got whenever he sparred with someone that could actually fight back. Fang had smiled and nodded her head in agreement before roundhouse kicking Yumichika in his beautiful face through _three_ walls in retaliation.

"I'm just happy," she said and stood up to leave.

"It's not anything illegal is it?" Ikkaku asked. The last thing he needed to do was find an alibi.

Fang stepped off the roof but her voice continued to carry through the air, "Not this time. Tell the captain I'll be busy for the next couple of days."

"Hey wait!" he scrambled to the edge of the roof and cursed when he saw no sign of his lieutenant, "Damn it! She just blew off her work onto me again. Not this time!"

Ikkaku prepared to chase after Fang when he noticed something moving in the corner of his eye. In her rush to leave Fang had accidently left the message from the academy on the roof to blow haphazardly in the breeze, "Well, might as well find out what got the lieutenant so giddy." He began to read the letter and as he did so his heart rate started to skyrocket and a nervous sweat began to drip down his face. The person who wrote this was insane, completely and utterly insane. Did they have any concept of the consequences of what they had written? Did they not remember what happened last time? Worst of all, did they know how much extra work _he _would be forced to do if she got into trouble?

"My luck cannot be this bad."

* * *

...

* * *

"Wait up Claire!"

Claire stopped but didn't turn around, "What do you want? Did Renji send you after me?"

Kira took a moment to catch his breath, "Renji is only concerned for you Claire. We all are."

"There is no need to be concerned for me. It is none of your business."

"Don't give me that," Kira snapped, surprising Claire. She may have known him for less then two weeks but he had always come across as a shy and introverted man who hated being put in the spotlight, "Something is obviously troubling you. We're your friends. _I'm_ your friend. If there is anything bothering you, you can count on us to help you through it."

Instead of answering Kira she looked out over the garden that ran parallel to the hall and thought about everything he just said. She really did want to tell them all about what had happened to her before coming to the academy for no other reason then to get the feeling of loneliness and isolation off her chest. They might even be able to offer a solution that she had been unable to see. She grimaced and realized she couldn't get others involved in her problems. If she couldn't solve a problem that she created how could she be counted to help others in the future? No, despite what her soul was telling her she needed to do this on her own. She reluctantly turned back to him and gave her answer, "I…appreciate the offer Kira but this is something I need to deal with on my own. Letting you know would only complicate everything."

Kira glared at her but after several tense seconds he relented, "If you don't want our help fine. Just…let us know if you do. Renji was really worried when you left. I think he would have come after you if Professor Belgemine hadn't stopped him."

"Thanks."

"And you should probably clear whatever is bothering you as soon as you can," Kira advised as he walked back to class, "If I know Renji and Momo they will tell Rukia about everything that happened as soon as possible."

_"That's right,"_ she thought with trepidation and ignored Kira as he turned around and went back to class. Despite not making it into the accelerated program Rukia seemed to always pop up when least expected or when it was most convenient for her. If Renji told Rukia about what happened earlier Claire could guarantee she would hunt her down and demand to know what was wrong. Ignoring the frustration building up in her chest she leaned against the railing overlooking the garden and closed her eyes.

_"How am I going to fix this mess? Despite her best efforts to help Rukia will only make things worst and Kira had a point. I don't know what to do anymore."_

"_But how…?"_

"Hey Claire."

Coming down the hall looking like he literally just rolled out of bed was Squall Leonhart or just Leon to those who didn't want him to punch them in the face. While he looked average by comparison to her or Renji his most distinguishable feature was the long, jagged scar that ran from above his right eye and across his nose to his cheek. Despite his appearance Leon was probably the most stoic student in the freshman class and probably even the entire academy. He hardly talked to anyone for more than a few seconds and even then it was always short, concise sentences but for some reason he was somewhat friendly with her. What was it that Renji had said at the party?

"_Are you certain he's not your long-lost brother or twin?"_

She had taken great satisfaction when she drove her elbow in Renji's stomach and dropped him to the ground. While Momo and Kira were mortified by her action and tried to help Renji, Rukia had pat her on the back and congratulated her for a job well done. Leon, who was there simply because he was walking past when Momo had left to gather anyway, had moved from the wall he was leaning on and said:

"_Impressive. You dropped him without even looking."_

She must have been deep in thought because by the time she brought herself back to reality Leon was almost next to her. "Yeah I guess," she quickly and quietly replied before remembering something, "Why weren't you in class?"

He looked genuinely confused by her question, "Class started already? Doesn't it start at 11:15?"

She shook her head, "10:15."

Leon pulled out a crumpled up sheet of paper and glanced down at the handwritten schedule, "It seems whoever wrote my schedule gave the wrong time but I'm sure the professor will understand. Well since I already appear to be late a couple more minutes won't make a difference."

He crossed his arms and bluntly said, "So what's bugging you?"

"Huh?"

"Look Claire, much like you I'm not really social. I don't like to talk to people unless it is important but I am observant. I could tell that something was bothering you ever since you decked Renji at that party."

She grit her teeth at how many people were able to figure out something was troubling her even if they didn't know what. How hard had she actually tried to hide her problems if everyone already knew about it? Moving around Leon she intended to tell him one thing before moving on, "Everyone keeps trying to offer advice for a problem I need to fix on my own. I can handle it myself but thanks anyway."

"And how's that working out for you?" he responded, managing to freeze her in her tracks, "Trying to solve this on your own is fine but you have friends who believe in you and professors that you can rely on for help. Think about that."

She stumbled over her response to his advice. However before she could say anything Leon had already walked away. Something about what he said struck with her but she wanted no, needed, to at least try and solve this on her own first. If that doesn't work she would ask Momo for help.

Unbeknownst to her she was being watched the entire time by a figure standing in a tree in the garden. The figure had paid rapt attention during her conversations with Kira and Leon before grimacing and disappearing in a burst of shunpo.

* * *

...

* * *

Serah Farron didn't realize how lonely the house would be without Claire.

She sat at the small table as the last rays of the sunlight disappeared behind the nearby buildings going over what had happened over a week ago in some vain hope of figuring out where everything went wrong. She hadn't meant to snap at her sister like that but it took her several days to realize that much to her dismay. Everything had just come so suddenly that she had been unable to process evyerthing going on and had lashed out at her sister. Her sister, who had come to her for help and support only for it to be dashed to pieces without even so much as a look back.

"_I'm a terrible sister."_

There was a soft knock at the door but she ignored it. She wanted to just head to the Seireitei and see Claire but Jidanbo would never let her, a simple soul, inside without a shinigami escort. No matter the difficulty she needed to find a way to make things right. If she was feeling this bad how much was Claire hurting?

"_Oh Claire, what have I done?"_

The knocking on the door came a little more forcefully this time but Serah once again ignored it. She was in no mood to see visitors. Perhaps whoever was out there waiting for her would get the message that she wasn't home and leave.

"_What can I do to fix this?"_

The knocking came again and Serah angrily got out of the chair and stormed towards the front door. If her visitor wasn't going to leave on their own she might as well see what they wanted.

"Hello. What can-"

Her voice hitched in her throat as she stared up into a pair of purple eyes. She knew from his appearance that he was a shinigami. What was he doing here?

"Serah Farron. We need to talk."

Fearful of what the shinigami wanted from her she quickly tried to close the door. Without even trying the man put his hand against the edge of the door and pushed back, stopping the motion. Serah stumbled backwards away from the door as the man pushed it open and walked inside, "Wha-What do you want with me?"

"As I said," Caius Ballad began and took a seat in a vacant chair, "You and I need to talk."

* * *

...

* * *

_**Author's Note:**__ Well that is chapter 4 down and things are starting to get a move on. It looks like Claire is being offered help from her friends but she is still torn on whether to actually accept it._

_I was thinking about adding section titles showing how much time has passes between segments but I realized that would just detract from the overall flow of the story. So I integrated the time skips into the actual story without making them too obvious._

_So here is where Lulu comes in. For those of you who are savvy, her last name comes directly from Final Fantasy X. I will leave the rest up to you to find. Squall Leonhart AKA Leon, also makes an appearance and for those of you who are curious NONE of my characters are simply throw-away cameos. Each with have a role, whether it be major/minor, in the story so do expect to see them make reappearances in future chapters._

_Leon's personality here (and most likely for the story) is a mixture of his FF8 personality before and after opening up to the rest of the party. He is still the stoic loner who would prefer to not talk to people but he also knows the value of friends._


End file.
